The release of the results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduation (NEET PG) 2024 has been engulfed in controversy. Unexpected scores, irregularities in application ID versus roll number and high percentiles are issues candidates are grappling with. Therefore, they have been urging for an immediate release of their scorecards.
Conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), the medical entrance exam for PG which was initially scheduled for June 23 was finally conducted on August 11.
To recall, the candidates had already experienced difficulty while choosing exam cities and then came the issue, wherein, they were allotted far away exam centres. However, while they were relieved after attempting one of the toughest examinations, they are now worried about the emerging percentile issues.
Speaking to EdexLive, a candidate Gaurav Kumar, who appeared for the exam in the second shift, said, "Many students are complaining that those who appeared in the second shift had to attempt a tougher question paper and the board may have not normalised ranks according to the toughness."
"Since the first shift was said to be easy, I thought I would get extra marks. But I didn't score as per my expectation, which was bagging a rank below 25,000," remarked a disappointed Kumar.
In Career Xpert Director Gaurav Tyagi's opinion, normalisation should be omitted and the candidates' scores should be calculated based on raw marks and toughness of the exam instead. He further questioned why the board was not disclosing the marks with the results.
NBE's notice dated August 23 read, "Individual scorecard of the candidates who appeared in NEET-PG 2024 can be downloaded from the website https://nbe.edu.in/ on/after 30th August, 2024."
Application ID vs roll number
Another concern raised by the candidates is the difference in the ranks when the candidate checks their application ID versus when they check the roll number. To explain further, Tyagi, who was contacted by a candidate, explained the concern as follows: "A candidate said the rank allotted to their application ID is 1,40,000 while to the roll number is 1,70,000."
National Council Member of Indian Medical Association-Junior Doctors Network (IMA-JDN) Dr Dhruv Chauhan told EdexLive that he received several messages from candidates raising concerns regarding the same matter. "The candidates who reached out to me said they were expecting double the percentile that they have actually been given. And were urging for transparency from the board and asking them to release scorecards immediately," he said.
What could be done now?
Gaurav Kumar stated, "I think NBE should find new ways to calculate instead of opting for the normalisation process and announce marks of respective shifts accordingly." He further questioned how NBE would assign ranks to applicants who received the same score in separate shifts.
Gaurav Tyagi stated, "The board ought to first disclose the formula used for normalisation. Second, it ought to declare the marks immediately. Finally, it should state whether or not the process of normalisation was followed."
"I think the problem with both shifts should be clarified and the scorecard should be made public immediately. Additionally, the portal should respond to grievances promptly," according to Dr Dhruv Chauhan.
