
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) released the schedule of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Super Speciality (NEET SS) 2024 yesterday, February 4, 2025. The registration window for the exam will remain open till February 24, 2025. The exam will be held on March 29 and 30, 2025, with the results slated to be declared by April 30, 2025.
If nothing in the above paragraph seemed odd to you, it is this: The NBEMS has scheduled NEET SS 2024, which was supposed to be held last year, in 2025.
To the uninitiated, NEET SS determines eligibility and ranks candidates for admission to super speciality medical courses. Candidates who have completed their postgraduation in medicine (MD) appear for the exam to gain admission to DM/MCh (Doctorate of Medicine/Master of Chirurgiae) and DNB (Diplomate of National Board) courses.
However, the National Medical Commission (NMC) announced last year that NEET SS would not be conducted in 2024.
When the dates for NEET SS 2024 were finally announced, aspirants and the medical community reacted with surprise and bewilderment, questioning how last year’s exam could be scheduled for this year.
Speaking to EdexLive about the situation, Dr Arun Kumar, National General Secretary of United Doctors’ Front (UDF), says, “Due to this delay, aspirants lost a whole year. They had to put their plans of pursuing a career abroad, or even marriage, on hold.”
He reiterated that NEET SS aspirants are not young students just out of Class XII but rather qualified doctors who had finished their MD. “These doctors want to upgrade their qualifications for better opportunities and become cardio surgeons, neurosurgeons, and other specialists. Denying them this opportunity is a disservice to them, and the medical system as a whole,” he laments.
Speculating on the state of affairs at the NBE, Gaurav Tyagi, NEET counsellor and founder of Career Xpert, says, “The mismanagement within the NBE is very evident. From the delays in NEET SS, discord in the NEET PG 2024 counselling, to the lack of information on NEET MDS (Masters of Dental Surgery), things are not as smooth as they seem.”
He claims that this sense of chaos and mismanagement are so palpable, that aspirants of these exams are panic-stricken. “There is a sense of insecurity about the future,” he adds.
Tyagi further claims that the NBE is aware of this, and is delaying announcing exams to avoid major backlash due to possible mismanagement.
Adding to this, Dr Arun says, “If the NBE or NMC are unable to conduct exams smoothly, maybe the Ministry of Health must entrust the responsibility to another body.”