The decision to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025 in two shifts has triggered widespread discontent among medical aspirants and doctors across India.
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) recently announced that NEET-PG 2025 will be held on June 15 in two sessions — from 9.00 am to 12.30 pm and from 3.30 pm to 7.00 pm.
The controversy stems from last year’s NEET-PG 2024, which was also conducted in two shifts, on August 11. Candidates who appeared in the second shift had raised objections, claiming that their question paper was more difficult than the first shift's.
Several aspirants even accused NBEMS of ‘scamming’ candidates under the guise of a competitive exam and took the matter to the Supreme Court of India, demanding greater transparency.
In response to these concerns, the National Medicos Organisation (NMO), a registered body representing medical professionals and students, has officially appealed to the Union Minister of Health.
In a letter dated March 23, NMO’s Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Pramukh, Dr Anshita Mishra, stated: "Conducting the exam in multiple shifts raises serious concerns about the integrity of the selection process… Variations in question paper difficulty across shifts make it challenging to ensure a truly fair normalisation system."
The NMO has urged the authorities to reconsider and conduct NEET-PG 2025 in a single shift, warning that the current plan could lead to legal challenges and stress among candidates. They believe a single-shift exam would restore confidence in the process and uphold merit-based selection.
