Why not One Nation One Exam? NEET PG aspirants oppose two-shift test
Aspirants express concerns about the fairness and transparency of the exam, citing differences in the difficulty levels of the questions in the two shifts
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences recently announced that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate) (NEET PG) will be held in two shifts on June 15. However, medical aspirants have criticized the move and demanded that the Union Health Minister reconsider the two-shift examination system to ensure greater transparency.
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Aspirants have expressed concerns about the fairness and transparency of the exam, citing differences in the difficulty levels of the questions in the two shifts. With no officially declared methodology to normalise the scores, the candidates who took the examination last year allege that the question paper lacked uniformity and scores would differ accordingly.
‘No regularity in system’
“I appeared for the NEET PG exam last year and I was planning to take it again this year, but the two-shift system this year as well has already discouraged me. Being in the second shift made me really anxious. I had hoped that the questions would be of a certain type, but they differed greatly in the two shifts, which I found out from other aspirants. There is no regularity in the system if there are two shifts for the exam, and I am re-considering taking the exam this year,” said Dr Akshaya, a NEET PG aspirant.
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Transparency of medical education questioned
Following allegations of paper leak, multiple toppers in NEET UG, irregularities in exam centres, and repeated postponement of NEET PG last year, medical aspirants question the transparency and regularity of medical education in the country. The medicos also attribute the two-shift system to the lack of proper security in exam centres.
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Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Coordinator, Indian Medical Association, Junior Doctors’ Network, said the exam is conducted in two shifts because of a lack of enough exam centres with proper security measures.
He added that the inability of the National Medical Commission (NMC) to conduct fair exams is putting a burden on doctors across the country, and remarked that the government wants to conduct One Nation, One Election, but not One Nation, One Exam.
As the controversy surrounding the NEET PG 2025 exam format continues to grow, aspirants and medical professionals are calling for a more transparent and fair examination system. However, NMC has not responded to the concerns raised by the students so far.
