NEET-PG: Limited exam centres, allocation of far away exam cities — NBEMS chief comes clean on everything

Private entrepreneur institutes have been avoided for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 centres for better monitoring and the test is being held in two shifts on August 11 to eliminate any possibility of malpractice. This was stated by National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) President Dr Abhijat Sheth, today, Thursday, August 8, as reported by PTI. 

The exam, which is conducted by the NBEMS along with its technical partner TCS, has been embroiled in controversies over allegations of paper leak twice, both of which have been rejected by the authorities.

The NEET-PG was cancelled on June 22, a day before it was scheduled to be held.

"We are relying on TCS iON centres and AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education)-affiliated institutes to hold the exam this time for better supervision and also to stem any possibility of malpractice," Dr Sheth told PTI.

He further added, that the aim behind holding it in two shifts is also to ensure that students do not have to travel too far to the exam centres.

"We have ensured that the students are issued exam centres in the same state as per their given address while filling up forms, to the best extent possible," Dr Sheth said.

The NEET-PG will be held on a pan-India basis for 2,28,542 candidates at 416 examination centres in 170 cities.

The exam will be conducted in two shifts and the scores of the candidates will be normalised, Dr Sheth stated.

The centres which were classified as high-risk by TCS based on their audit have been removed from the list.

"Holding in shifts and normalisation is an old and legitimate process for conducting the exams in India. Institutions like the Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), All India Institute Of Medical Sciences Delhi (AIIMS) and so on are conducting examinations in multiple shifts," Dr Sheth said.

Reassigned exam centres

Over some candidates being reassigned exam centres on August 4, he said that has been because of the addition of new centres to further reduce inter-state travel for a few of the candidates as per suggestions of the health ministry.

Dr Sheth stated that 90% of students have been allotted test centres within the state of their correspondence address and the remaining students have been allotted centres in nearby states owing to limitations of testing seats in their correspondence state.

The admit cards for the exam have been released on Thursday (August 8), he said. 

The NBEMS, yesterday, Wednesday, August 7, dismissed claims of some "unscrupulous agents" on social media platforms that they have access to the 2024 NEET-PG exam questions and said it has filed a police complaint.

Furthermore, in a notice, the board said the false claims had been made on a Telegram channel called "NEET-PG LEAKED MATERIAL".

In addition, the NBEMS said it has already registered a police complaint against such fraudsters and their accomplices for attempting to befool NEET-PG aspirants in the name of providing questions in exchange for money.

The NBEMS on August 1 wrote to district administrations, asking them to ensure the smooth conduct of the NEET-PG 2024 on August 11 so that its integrity and sanctity are preserved.

Official sources maintained that the letter contained general instructions and a needless hype was being created by alleging that it had been leaked.

The August 1 letter by Dr Sheth stated that given the critical nature of the examination, which significantly impacts the academic and professional future of a large number of medical students, "it is imperative to ensure that the process is conducted securely and uninterruptedly".

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday, August 9, a plea seeking postponement of the NEET-PG 2024 examination, which claimed that candidates have been allocated cities that are highly inconvenient for them to reach and require normalisation of scores.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Thursday, August 8, took note of the submissions of lawyer Anas Tanwir on the issue.