Fallout of NEET-PG exam row: Many aspirants look to foreign shores

Postponement of NEET-PG puts spanner in the works of candidates planning to go for post-MBBS courses

Over 200,000 students, who registered to appear for the now postponed National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-post graduate (NEET-PG) examination on Sunday, are uncertain on the road ahead for them.

This comes after the entrance exam for postgraduate courses in medical and allied sciences got postponed barely 10 hours before it was scheduled to start.

While the health ministry stated that a fresh date for the examination will be announced at the earliest, candidates feel that the decision to postpone the exam just 10 hours before its start is very harsh.  

Highlighting the difficulties being faced by candidates, a doctor said many of them had centres in cities far away from where they live.

He added, “Some had even reached there after travelling for 15 to 18 hours and suddenly the announcement came last night.”  

“The NEET-PG is the only exam for admission to Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS) and PG Diploma courses. Many doctors take time off from work to prepare for it, while others study during their long hospital shifts,” she said. 

Several candidates that were to give the exam may weigh options to study abroad for postgraduate medical courses.

“While I had no plans to move abroad for my MS after what happened during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many doctors may do so,” a candidate said. 

The postponement of NEET-PG also put a spanner for candidates planning to undertake post-MBBS Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses. 

According to an information bulletin released by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) in April, the merit list of NEET-PG 2024 was to be utilised for admission to various post-MBBS DNB, post-MBBS Direct 6-year DrNB courses and other NBEMS diploma courses.   

“The NEET-PG exam has already faced multiple date changes. Initially set for March 3, the paper was postponed to July 8 in January this year. Shortly after, the date was again moved to June 23. Now, just a day before the exam, it has been postponed again”, the candidate added.  

The Union health ministry on Saturday announced its decision to postpone the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held on June 23.

It called it a “precautionary measure” in the wake of the recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams. 

“Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain examinations, the ministry has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG entrance examination for medical students,” the ministry said in a statement.

The postponement of NEET PG 2024 comes amid controversy in several entrance examinations of alleged paper leaks. It is the second major examination to be postponed this month after the Joint CSIR UGC-NET exam. 

The latter is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is already facing anger over irregularities in the NEET-UG exam and cancellation of the UGC-NET due to a leaked exam paper on the darkNet. 

On Saturday night, the centre removed NTA chief Subodh Kumar Singh and placed him on ‘compulsory wait.’