The Supreme Court has delivered a landmark verdict in favour of NEET-PG petitioners, directing the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the medical exam in a single shift, rather than the previously planned two-shift format.
The court emphasised that conducting the exam in two shifts would lead to arbitrariness and will undermine its fairness, as no two question papers can ever be truly identical in difficulty.
With the exam dates approaching, the real question that arises is whether NBE will be able to make arrangements for over two lakh students appearing for NEET-PG to conduct the exams in a single shift.
To gather students' feedback, EdexLive interacted with them to understand their perspectives.
NEET-PG aspirants have widely welcomed this SC's order.
Dr. Aditi, the lead petitioner of the case, expressed relief and gratitude: “I am really happy that justice has prevailed and finally, doctors have been heard. The repeated postponements disheartened us, but I am thankful to the honourable justices for ensuring a fair judgment.”
Another aspirant, on the condition of anonymity, remarked, “I welcome the Supreme Court’s decision, as NEET-PG exams should be conducted in a single shift to maintain transparency, as normalisation of scores is not ideal.”
Addressing concerns about logistics, Dr Aditi pointed out that the application fees collected from NEET-PG aspirants amount to over Rs 60 crore, and the NBE has outsourced test centres to a private provider with established infrastructure. “NBE facing infrastructure issues is nothing but a baseless argument. We just want a fair examination,” she said.
Yukta, a NEET-PG aspirant from Visakhapatnam, highlighted that NBE has previously conducted NEET exams in a single shift for over two lakh candidates. Adding to Yukta’s comment, another aspirant, on the condition of anonymity, pointed out that managing NEET-PG in one shift should not be more challenging than other large-scale exams like JEE.
When asked about possible postponement, most students said they do not want the exam delayed, as it would push back counselling and increase anxiety. However, Yukta urged NBE to communicate any changes promptly if postponement becomes necessary.
Reflecting on the uncertainty, Dr Aditi added, “It has definitely caused turmoil and distraction. Nobody wants to get involved in a legal battle around their examinations, but since I was already a victim of this last year, I had to get involved.”
With the Apex Court’s clear announcement, all eyes are now on NBE to ensure a smooth, single-shift NEET-PG 2025 on June 15, reaffirming fairness and transparency for over two lakh medical aspirants across India.
