The NEET-PG 2024 exam, which is the gateway to postgraduate medical studies, will be held on August 11. This year, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) has decided to conduct the exam at 500 carefully chosen centers. Unlike previous years, the number of exam centers has been reduced from 1,200 to 500 to ensure better control and security. In the past, there have been concerns about paper leaks, so the examination body has opted not to use outsourced centers this time.
First Time: Two Shifts for NEET-PG
For the first time, the NEET-PG exam will be conducted in two shifts. This change comes after the exam was postponed from its original date of June 23 to August 11. The decision to hold the exam in two shifts means that students will be taking two different sets of question papers, which will require score normalization to ensure fairness. An official explained that since the exam’s start in 2018, there hasn’t been any need for normalization because all students took the same question paper at the same time.
Changes in Exam Center Allocation
To prevent cheating, the NBE has also made a significant change in how exam centers are assigned. “Earlier, the students were given the option to select different centers across the country to appear in the examination. Now, they have to appear at a center either in the city or close to where their address is. It will be ensured that a person from one corner of the country does not go to another just to appear in the examination,” the official stated. This means that students are now required to take the exam in the same city as the address they provided on their application forms.
Supreme Court Petition to Postpone NEET-PG 2024
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court by Vishal Soren, seeking to postpone the NEET-PG 2024 exam. The plea argues that many candidates are facing difficulties reaching their designated exam centers, which are located in cities that are hard for them to access. The petition also demands clarity on how the score normalization will be handled across the four sets of question papers. The Supreme Court is set to hear the plea on Friday.
