NEET SS 2023: Candidates allege mismanagement, poor facilities at exam centres

After the allegations of delay on the first day of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Super Speciality (NEET SS) 2023 exam, September 29, Friday, several candidates have alleged mismanagement and poor facilities at exam centres on the second day, which is, today, September 30, Saturday.

As mentioned in earlier reports, the NEET SS 2023 exam was reportedly delayed by over two hours across several exam centres in India due to ‘technical glitches’. This was confirmed by several medical associations like the United Doctors Front Association (UDFA), Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA) as well as the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA).

Dr Aviral Mathur, President, FORDA, told EdexLive, “At every exam centre, there was some mismanagement reported by the candidates. They were told that the exam was being delayed due to server issues. From the reports that we received from the students, there was some disparity in the time the exam started all over India.”

Dr Mathur said that this is not the first time such experiences have been reported during medical exams conducted by the National Board Of Examinations In Medical Sciences (NBEMS). Similar grievances have been reported by the candidates in past during NEET SS as well as NEET Postgraduate examinations as well.

Mismanagement at exam centres

However, the delay in the commencement of the exam was not the only grievance faced by the NEET SS 2023 candidates yesterday. Apart from that, candidates from a few exam centres across the country reported a lack of basic facilities at the examination centres.

Doctors associations like FORDA also confirmed receiving several complaints about poor management at the centres.

“Candidates appearing for the NEET SS examination are already senior doctors who are MS/MD graduates. Apart from this, the exam fee for NEET SS is much higher than any other entrance examination. Considering all these sectors, the management at exam centres was extremely poor. We received several representations from students describing that they were not allowed more than one glass of water during the test. At some exam centres, they were not even provided with a pen,” added Dr Aviral Mathur, FORDA.

A few candidates even added that poor facilities and unusual delay in the conduction of exams could hamper their performance.

The NEET-SS 2023 exam has been scheduled over two days, September 29 and 30, for admission into various super speciality courses.