NEET pressure! 93 suicides since 2021, 14 cases in 2026: Report

New Delhi: Approximately 93 aspirants reportedly died by suicide in cases linked to the NEET over the last five years, according to an analysis of media reports by India Today.

The analysis found that 2025 recorded the highest number of such reported deaths, while 2026 has already seen at least 14 cases so far.

The year-wise data showed a steady rise in reported NEET-linked student suicides. At least four cases were reported in 2021, nine in 2022, 14 in 2023, 19 in 2024, and 32 in 2025. In 2026, at least 14 such cases have already been reported, including five after the announcement of the exam cancellation on May 12.

Among the recent cases were a 17-year-old student from Curtorim in Goa on May 14, another from Lakhimpur Kheri and another from Delhi on May 15, an NEET aspirant from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, who died in Sikar on May 16, and another from Kalaburagi in Karnataka on May 24.

The data further revealed that nearly one in five reported NEET-linked suicide cases involved students from Bihar (19.8%). Rajasthan accounted for 18.7% of cases, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu at 15.4% each, while Madhya Pradesh contributed 8.8%.

Also read- 18 year old NEET aspirant commits suicide in Kalaburagi

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, the NTA on May 12, 2026, declared the cancellation of the examination held on May 3 and subsequently announced the re-examination on June 21, 2026.

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination. The investigation found that the leaked papers were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram groups ahead of the NEET UG 2026 examination.

Due to the alleged controversy, the central government decided to refer the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for a comprehensive inquiry into the allegations. Based on the centre's direction, the CBI registered an FIR in the case and has so far arrested 13 people. 

A previous study published in 2021 in the Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine used a similar open-source review of online news reports to track NEET-linked suicides.

The authors Sujita Kumar Kar, Sagar Rai, Nivedita Sharma and Amit Singh had identified 32 reported NEET-linked suicide cases between January 2018 and September 2020 through a review of online news reports. The study documented 11 cases in 2018, seven in 2019 and 14 cases up to September 2020.

For their research, the authors used year-wise keyword searches of online news reports, followed by translation, removal of duplicate reports and manual verification using details such as names, ages, locations and dates of death.

India Today used a similar methodology and identified at least 93 documented cases between 2021 and 2026. Among the cities, Kota emerged as the largest cluster with at least 40 reported cases, followed by Patna with seven and Sikar with five.

The analysis noted that Kota's high number of reported deaths may be linked not only to academic pressure but also to the city's massive coaching ecosystem and the large number of NEET aspirants who move there every year for exam preparation.

The researchers also noted that while success stories are often glorified in society, student suicides are framed around failure. Such portrayals, they noted, can make failure appear final. They argued that students need to be taught how to cope with failure, frustration, peer pressure and family expectations, alongside stronger mental-health support.

The researchers also cautioned a blind spot: media reports can only capture what gets reported. Since the dataset relies on online news coverage, some deaths may never enter the public record. The real toll, therefore, may be higher.

The data points to two danger windows in the NEET cycle: May, when the exam is held, and September, when results usually arrive. Together, the two months account for nearly one-third of all reported deaths, closely linking the exam cycle.

Also read- Goa NEET aspirant allegedly commits suicide, police probe possible link to exam cancellation