NEET PG 2024: After Karnataka, “first come first serve” centre allocation leaves no seats in Gujarat

Students appearing for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG 2024) admissions this year in Gujarat are alleging that they are unable to find examination centres, due to a lack of availability. 

They attribute this lack to the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences’ (NBEMS) new “first come, first serve” policy which was implemented this year, due to which the exam centres are filling up quicker than usual. 

Registrations for NEET PG 2024 opened on April 16 – but aspirants say that within 45 hours of the NBEMS inviting registrations for the exam, all 31 exam centres in Gujarat were filled. 

It was reported on April 19 by The Hindu that aspirants from Bengaluru, Karnataka also faced this issue where no exam centre in the city had seats available. 

Speaking on the issue, Dr Vijay Tadha, an aspirant from Gujarat says, “Some of us could not register for the exam on April 16, when the registration window opened. However, when we opened the registration window three days later, we were shocked to see that the centres were all full.”

The last day to register for the exam is May 6. 

With registrations closed in Gujarat, these aspirants are left with no option but to register to appear for the exam in other states, which poses an inconvenience to them. 

“If we register in another state, we have to plan our journey and make sure to reach the place at least a week before our exam. Once in the city or town of the centre, we have to make arrangements for food, accommodation and commute to the exam centre,” says Dr Krunal Jani, another aspirant from the state. 

He adds that aspirants cannot do their best in the exam after undergoing so much stress. 

Explaining why this issue arose in the first place, Dr Meet Ghonia, a member of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association and former National Joint Secretary of the Indian Medical Association-Junior Doctors’ Network (IMA-JDN) says, “The number of NEET PG aspirants are not uniform across the country; a few states have more aspirants than the rest. As the NBEMS did not take note of this, the capacity of centres is falling short in these states.” 

Appeals to the NBEMS

In a post on X, Dr Meet Ghonia revealed that multiple students approached him with this issue and that FORDA urged the NBEMS to add more centres, particularly in Karnataka and Gujarat. 

“We met with a senior official of the NBEMS and conveyed this issue; they promised to bring this to the cognisance of the relevant authorities,” he told EdexLive. 

On their part, even the students wrote to the NBEMS, illustrating their problem, seeking directions to register themselves for the exam, and requesting a resolution of the issue. 

When asked about the next step for the aspirants, Dr Vijay Tadha said, “We are waiting for the NBEMS to get back to us, as we have been assured that we will receive a positive response from them.” 

On the occasion that a response does not come through, he said that he would have no choice but to register for the examination in another state.