NEET PG 2024 2nd Shift Candidates Allege Normalisation formula 'scam'

New Delhi: Amid the several allegations regarding discrepancies in the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 examination, a few candidates who appeared in the second shift of the exam questioned the normalisation formula adopted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) and further claimed that the board scammed them in the name of a competitive exam,.

Candidates are expressing their concern that NBE assigned them ranks randomly which ultimately affects the candidates who were expecting a good result. 

They pointed out that the Shift 2 paper was tougher compared to Shift 1 and further termed the process of calculating scores as debatable.

After several controversies, the NEET PG 2024 examination was finally conducted on August 11, 2024 in two shifts i.e. from 9 am to 12:30 pm and 3:30 pm for admission to MD, MS, DNB, and Diploma Courses of 2024-25 admission session. Consequently, the PG medical entrance exam results were published on August 24, 2024.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the NEET PG 2024 exam is once again facing controversies as some of the candidates, especially those who appeared in the second shift of the exam on August 11, 2024, started questioning the transparency of the exam results.

Also Read: NEET PG 2024 Results OUT, Scorecards likely from August 30th, check details

Raising their doubts regarding the fairness of the NEET PG 2024 exam and also about the normalisation of scores policy adopted by the NBE, several candidates had urged the NBEMS to issue the answer key to the PG medical entrance test and disclose the details of the normalisation policy adopted by the authorities.

NBE reportedly applied a normalisation formula as the exam was held in two shifts. This normalisation policy adopted by NBE was earlier challenged by the petitioners before the Supreme Court. Filing the plea, the petitioners sought disclosure of the normalization formula of the four sets of question papers to the candidates to eliminate any possibility of arbitrariness.

As per the latest media report by Edex Live, NEET PG candidates who appeared in the second shift of the exam on 11th August are extremely disappointed. They claimed that no normalisation formula was adopted and ranks were assigned randomly. Commenting on this, a candidate from Coimbatore told the Daily, "I felt like we were scammed in the name of a competitive exam."

Explaining why the exam felt like a scam, the candidate pointed out, "When the Shift 1 vs Shift 2 highest and lowest marks, and mean scores were not released, how can we believe that normalisation was calculated accurately? The board scammed us in the name of normalisation."

"Instead of disclosing the actual scores, they disclosed the percentile. I'm not sure what went wrong, but Shift 2 candidates were ranked lower than Shift 1 candidates. Many candidates, including myself, who had been working hard for the past eight months, feel stranded after seeing the results," the candidate, who appeared in Shift 2, added.

This year, several candidates have secured ranks far below their expectations. One such candidate from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh told Edex, "I was expecting a score of above 400. As I was assigned to appear in Shift 2, I revised my expectations to a rank below 50,000. However, to my disappointment, I received a rank of around 1.5 lakh."

"I didn't even qualify for the exam. There are several doctors dealing with this problem. The outcomes are completely inaccurate," the candidate further added.

Also Read: NEET PG 2024 results spark controversy, Candidates allege discrepancy in Normalisation Formula, Demand Release of Answer Key