Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamil Nadu & Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader P Wilson wrote to JP Nadda, the Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, today, Monday, August 8, urging that the exam centres for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Exam for Postgraduate (NEET PG) admissions 2024 be re-allotted.
The MP also took to his social media platform, X, account to share this update, writing, “The recent allotment of examination centres in distant states, particularly for candidates from Tamil Nadu who have been assigned centres 1000 km away from their residence, has created undue hardship and requires immediate intervention and requested that examination centres be re-allotted within the districts or, at the very least, within the state of the respective students.”
In his letter to JP Nadda, Wilson shares various problems posed by the test city allocation, as well as other issues with the overall conduct of the exam by the National Board of Examination for Medical Sciences (NBEMS).
He writes how the exam was first postponed at mere hours’ notice, causing severe stress to students and their parents. Then, when the revised dates were announced, the candidates were allotted centres 1,000 kilometres away — contrary to the president of NBEMS’ claim that the exam would be conducted in two shifts to prevent students from travelling far, and ensuring that they were provided centres in their home states.
Moreover, he also claims that the students saw a significant drop in the number of centres before and after the rescheduling of the exam — 259 to 180, and 31 to 17 in Tamil Nadu alone. Furthermore, students were made to choose four prospective centres — three of which are from their home states and one outside — with the last one being compulsory, and thus, “obligatory for the completion of the application process in the portal", he writes.
There are also no direct trains to these centres, as they are located in Tier II or Tier-III cities, he further says. He adds that students appearing in the second shift could find it inconvenient, as their examination ends at 7 pm, and this could lead to them and their parents travelling late in the night in unfamiliar locations, or staying back for at least two days.
This, he claims, is causing students from marginalised backgrounds to face significant challenges because of the financial burden on them.
“These students often come from families with limited financial resources, making it difficult for them to afford the unexpected expenses associated with travel and accommodation. For these students, spending an average of over Rs. 12,500 for travel and lodging is a substantial strain on their already tight budgets,” he writes.
He adds that disclosing the exact name and location of the centre today, August 5, that is, two days before the exam makes it challenging for students to secure travel tickets and accommodation on such short notice.
With all these factors in mind, Wilson urges the health minister to reallocate centres to the candidates’ own districts, or at least, their states. He also draws attention to candidates from Wayanad and Himachal Pradesh, both states which faced natural disasters recently, and requests that a special examination be conducted for them.