NEET PG 'impacts future of healthcare of India' Kerala MP raises 3 major concerns in Parliament

NEW DELHI: Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh today requested the Lok Sabha for an adjournment motion to address the “serious concerns” regarding exam transparency of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - postgraduate (NEET PG).

However, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day as opposition members protested in the House wearing T-shirts with slogans on the issue of delimitation of parliamentary and assembly constituencies.

Stating that NEET PG exam “transparency and accountability are non-negotiable”, the Kerala MP Kodikunnil Suresh wrote on X: “I have given notice in Lok Sabha to discuss and ensure fair practices in #NEETPG 2025. The future of our medical aspirants must not be compromised due to irregularities and systemic failures.”

The minister urged the government to take immediate action to ensure fairness in medical admissions and that the decision directly impact thousands of medical graduates and the "future of healthcare in India".

NEET PG 2025: 3 major concerns

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) is scheduled to conduct the NEET PG 2025 exam on June 15 in two shifts. However, “several critical issues remain unresolved, raising serious apprehensions about transparency, fairness, and equal opportunity in the selection process,” the MP said.

NEET PG normalisation criteria: The NBEMS introduced major changes last year such as conducting the exam in dual shifts. In an effort to ward-off the possibility of a candidate from a particular shift from benefitting due to variation in difficulty level, the board adopted the normalisation method used by the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS New Delhi).

However, there was no clarity on the method of normalisation which impacts the NEET PG ranking process. “The government has failed to predefine and publish a transparent normalization formula, leading to concerns of bias and inconsistency,” the Kerala MP said.

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

Non-disclosure of NEET PG answer keys: The NBEMS in the NEET PG information bulletin clearly states that it “shall not entertain any request for sharing any content of the examination including answer key”. However, due to the introduction of last-minute changes in the exam last year, candidates demanded the board to display the NEET PG answer keys of all candidates who wrote the exam. A petition was also heard in Supreme Court last year seeking response from the board on disclosure of answer key.

“Unlike NEET-UG, the NEET-PG examination process does not include the release of answer keys, preventing candidates from verifying their responses. This lack of transparency raises doubts over the evaluation process and final rankings,” Suresh added.

Unclear NEET PG service quota score criteria: While explaining the NEET PG normalisation process in Rajasthan High Court, the NBEMS said that the state merit list is prepared by adding bonus marks for in-service candidates who have based on the year of services rendered in state-run hospitals, as per the data provided by the state.

The NBE adopted a ‘scientific method’ on the basis of the percentage suggested by the state government for the in-service candidates. “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," it told the high court.

However, the member of the Parliament said many aspirants have reported confusion regarding the calculation of score for in-service candidates. “The absence of a predefined and publicly available framework has led to anxiety and potential injustice to eligible candidates,” he added.