As the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) exam results are likely to be released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) today, August 21, let's dive into a quick flashback.
The inordinate delays
Intially, it was announced that the exam would be conducted on March 3, 2024, and in January 2024, the NEET PG exam was rescheduled to July 7. Again, in March 2024, the date of the exam was advanced to June 23.
In the light of NEET Undergraduate (UG), paper leak controversy, the exam was postponed again. This happened one day before the exam, as announced by the Ministry of Health.
NEET PG exam centre allocation
As the admit slips were released on July 31, informing the NEET PG candidates about their exam city, several candidates noted that the exam city allocation wasn't based on the four preferences that they had listed. Moreover, for most, it was allotted in far away centres.
Uttarakhand and Wayanad landslides in Kerala compelled the government to change the exam centres for a few, but as the exam centres were changed even a few days before the exam, the candidates had a tough time arranging for their travel and accommodation.
Though NBEMS Chief Dr Abhijat Sheth clarified that only TCS iON (exam conducting company) and All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)-affiliated institutes were listed as exam centres, which led to limited numbers of exam centres, for better supervision of the exam.
Normalisation of scores
Since the NEET PG exam was proposed to be held in two shifts, the NBEMS will have to use a normalisation process, which, the student alleged will lead to discrepancies in the exam results.
NEET PG postponement
The matter of NEET PG postponement reached the doors of the Supreme Court on August 7. The main contention was the allocation of far-away exam cities and the normalisation of the scores.
The Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, who was hearing the case, refused to postpone the exam.
NEET PG paper leak
The plague of paper leaks impacted NEET PG as well. Especially after a Telegram group, NEET-PG Leaked Material, allegedly started circulating questions and the question paper. This created a huge uproar among students
Pictures of exam centre goes viral
Picture of a NEET PG exam centre in Jodhpur, Rajasthan went viral as students claimed it looked more like a grocery store. It looked like the exam centre was located in the middle of nowhere.
