NEET PG 2024: Shashi Tharoor urges health minister to address exam centre chaos amid last-minute changes

NEW DELHI: With just two days before the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2024, candidates have been flooding social media with their concerns regarding the last-minute revision of exam centres. Voicing support to the NEET PG aspirants, Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor wrote a letter to Union minister of health and family welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda requesting his "urgent action on the Neet PG mismanagement".

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) will conduct the NEET PG 2024 examination on August 11. Several MPs, student groups and doctors association have also requested the health ministry to review the NEET PG 2024 exam centre allocation.

Aspirants are expressing dissatisfaction with the reassigned cities because they are farther away than their preferred choices. The candidates' situation is worsened by the adverse weather conditions across India during the monsoon season.

Tharoor writes to JP Nadda regarding NEET PG mismanagement

In the letter Tharoor highlighted the requirement for many aspirants to travel long distances to reach their NEET PG 2024 exam centres, with some candidates having to travel thousands of kilometers. "This situation is made worse by the current adverse weather conditions, difficulties in securing travel tickets, a shortage of affordable accommodations, and safety concerns', the letter read.

Tharoor stated that for a national exam like NEET PG, there should be sufficient centers in every state, given the manageable number of candidates. This would enable students to take the exam at locations close to their educational institutions or residences.

Concerns over the proposed two-shift examination

Tharoor also expressed concern over the proposed two-shift examination, where two different papers would be administered in separate shifts, with results to be normalised. According to him this approach undermines the integrity of a national examination, which should ideally be a single test conducted on the same day across the country.

Additionally, Tharoor pointed to reports that the number of cities hosting the exam has been significantly reduced, adding to the candidates' difficulties.