Explainer: How is NEET PG state merit list prepared? NBEMS explains normalisation method

NEW DELHI: The National Board Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has prepared the National Eligiblity-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG 2024) results by adopting ‘a scientific method’, Subodh Kumar, executive director of NBEMS, said while explaining the normalisation method used to prepare state merit list during a hearing at the Rajasthan High Court.

The NEET PG 2024 has been under scanner after candidates alleged several discrepancies in the result and demanded exam transparency. They have been demanding NBE to issue the answer key, question paper, and raw marks obtained by the candidates. While the Supreme Court is yet to take a decision on the NEET PG case, four additional petitions have been filed in Telangana, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by 45 doctors alleging errors in the state merit list published by the NBE on November 22 for Rajasthan NEET PG counselling 2024 . Students with lower rank were placed higher in the merit list compared to the ones who were ranked higher than them in the All India merit list.

Rajasthan NEET PG 2024: In-service quota

Around 2.3 lakh candidates appeared for the NEET PG exam 2024, of which 4,561 were from Rajasthan and out of such candidates, 1,399 candidates have claimed bonus marks under the in-service quota.

The policy mandates additional bonus marks for students who complete medical services in the rural areas. Such candidates will be entitled for 10%, 20% and 30% bonus marks depending on the duration of their service. Out of the eligible candidates under the in-service quota, 685 candidates were from shift 1 and 714 were from shift 2.

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How is NEET PG merit list prepared by NBE?

Unlike previous years, the NBE conducted the NEET PG exam 2024 in two shifts and introduced last-minute exam pattern changes. The board adopted the normalisation method used by AIIMS New Delhi to rationalise the marks obtained by candidates in a bid to ward-off the possibility of the result being skewed in favour of candidates appearing in one shift, where the paper was relatively easy.

The raw marks secured by the candidates were converted into percentile scores. The Rajasthan government provided details of bonus marks to be awarded to the in-service candidates based on the year of services rendered in state-run hospitals and requested the NBE Board to prepare the state merit list .

“An exercise was undertaken and on the basis of the percentage suggested by the State of Rajasthan, their raw marks (not percentile) were reckoned and incentivised marks were calculated and then again, shift-wise percentile was calculated on the basis of All India data and merit list after merging the result of shift 1 and shift 2,” the NBE in a reply informed the court.

NEET PG 2024 percentile vs raw score

The NEET PG result 2024 was prepared on the basis of percentile and therefore, it was necessary for the Board to give bonus marks on the basis of raw marks. “The bonus marks could not have been given on percentile score,” it added.

The counsel for the petitioners had argued that the board ought not to have given bonus marks on raw marks and they should have rather given it on the basis of normalized marks. “Such contention is misconceived,” the NBE said.

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How did NEET PG state merit list change?

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) agreed that “at a first glance, there appears to be some discrepancy in the result of some candidates, “who in All India Result stood higher in merit, but when the result of the state was declared, their position got altered and in spite of the fact that two candidates had obtained equal percentage of bonus, the person who was higher in All India list lagged behind in the state list.”

The NBEMS calculated percentiles of each candidate in shift 1 and shift 2 again. Since there was a difference in the total number of students from Rajasthan in both shifts coupled with a huge variation due to award of bonus marks, the state merit list are bound to change, it said.

"If the bonus marks of 10%, 20% and 30% were to be added to those percentile, it would be a mathematical disaster, because the percentile is not indicative of the marks obtained by the candidates and rather it is performance of each candidate vis-a-vis the other candidates in the same Shift," it added.