Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has written to Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, highlighting the challenges faced by NEET-PG aspirants, including travel difficulties and limited accessibility to examination centers. Tharoor pointed out that some candidates must travel thousands of kilometers to reach their exam centers, with adverse weather, limited ticket availability, and a lack of affordable accommodations worsening the situation.
“If we are to have national exams, we ought to be able to authorize enough centers in every state, especially given the manageable number of aspirants, allowing candidates to take the exam from centers easily accessible from their places of education or residence,” said Tharoor.
He also criticized the decision to conduct the exam in two shifts with separate papers, arguing that a national exam should be administered in a single shift across all locations to maintain uniformity and fairness. “The whole idea of a national examination is vitiated unless it is one test on one date everywhere across India,” Tharoor said.
“Exacerbating all of this are the reports that the number of cities, where the tests are to be conducted, has been reduced significantly,” he added.
The NEET-PG 2024, organized by the National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) with support from TCS, was canceled on June 22, a day before it was scheduled. NBEMS President Dr. Abhijat Sheth defended the current arrangements, explaining that private centers were avoided to improve monitoring and minimize malpractice. “We are relying on TCS iON centers and AICTE-affiliated institutes for better supervision. Some private centers are used where necessary,” Dr. Sheth told PTI.
“We have ensured that students are assigned exam centers in their state of residence to the best extent possible,” he added.
The NEET-PG will be held nationwide for 2,28,542 candidates at 416 examination centers in 170 cities, conducted in two shifts, with scores normalized. Centers classified as high-risk by TCS have been excluded.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea on Friday seeking the postponement of NEET-PG 2024, citing the allocation of inconvenient exam cities and the need for score normalization. A bench including Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra has taken note of the concerns raised by lawyer Anas Tanwir.