Will NEET PG 2024 be postponed? Supreme Court to hear plea today

NEW DELHI: Will NEET PG 2024 be postponed? A question running on the minds of several PG medical aspirants as they await the Supreme Court hearing on the matter. A bench comprising the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud will hear the plea seeking the postponement of the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET PG) 2024 scheduled for August 11 after 10:30 am today, as per a Live Law report.

The smoke of the NEET UG controversy-induced fire had hardly died down when the NEET PG issue became inflammatory with candidates complaining about allotment of examination centres a thousand kilometers away from their locations. And this was not the first set of complaints.

NEET PG 2024 aspirants already faced the brunt of exam cancellation a day before the initial scheduled date, June 23. The education ministry reasoned that the step was taken to maintain the sanctity of the examination and as a precautionary measure following the rampant cases of paper leaks. Soon, the National Board of Examinations (NBE) announced a fresh exam date and a first-ever double shift test.

Further problems stemmed from the alleged website issues faced by candidates and ‘random’ scheme for NEET PG test city allotment 2024. The medical board had asked applicants to select four cities which were ‘not’ considered as preferences.

Also read No NEET PG 2024 paper leak: Centre says NBEMS yet to prepare question paper, calls claims ‘bogus’

Students were left jittery when they checked the allotted examination city way beyond their imagination. Several Kerala candidates were allegedly given test cities in neighboring states leaving them in a fix. Candidates complained of travel and accommodation issues with such far-off centres and demanded not only centres within their states but also single shift exam. The matter took a political turn as many Rajya Sabha members condemned the board and wrote to the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as well as health minister JP Nadda for intervention.

Even though the government gave a quick response and aspirants soon received mails informing revision of NEET PG exam centre allocation, many were still disappointed. Meanwhile, an NBEMS confidential letter also went viral on social media containing exam details.