NEET PG 2024: Doctors Seek Health Minister's Intervention for Re-Evaluation of Exam Centre Allocation

New Delhi: Raising the grievances of NEET-PG 2024 aspirants regarding the exam centre allocation, the doctors have written to the Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda seeking his intervention into the matter.

The doctors under the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) and the United Doctors Front Association (UDFA) have demanded a re-evaluation and correction of the exam centre allocation process to ensure that all candidates, especially Divyangjan, are allocated exam centres within reasonable distances from their home states.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the exam city allotment slip for the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 examination was scheduled to be released by NBEMS on July 31, 2024. Accordingly, on July 31, 2024, students received information about their exam cities. 

However, they claimed that NBE allotted them cities that were too far away from their preferred locations. Upset over the "randomly" allotted exam centers, candidates took to social media platforms to express their frustrations. Concerns were raised by Divyangjan candidates as well who had alleged that it would be problematic for them to travel so far away to appear in the exam.

Now members of the medical fraternity have come in support of the NEET PG aspirants. Raising their grievances, UDFA recently wrote to the authorities including the Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda, the Chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan).

The association further mentioned in the letter that "...candidates were recently directed to choose their preferred test cities during an online window from July 19, 2024, to July 22, 2024, with allotted city centers communicated on July 31, 2024. However, several candidates have now been assigned exam centers far from their place of residence or state, drastically different from their chosen preferences. This has caused significant logistical challenges, particularly with the exam date just 10 days away."

"These changes have led to severe hardships, especially for Divyangjan (PwD) candidates, who are now required to travel up to 1000-3000 kilometers, imposing tremendous physical and mental strain. This situation breaches their fundamental rights and fails to provide the necessary accommodations for equitable treatment. Furthermore, adverse climatic conditions, limited transportation options, and the high cost of travel and accommodation have exacerbated the difficulties faced by all candidates. The sudden and drastic changes have led to significant mental trauma and a loss of confidence, severely impacting last-minute preparation efforts," UDFA further mentioned in the letter.

Therefore, the association urged the authorities to immediately review and correct the exam center allocations process, ensuring that all candidates, especially Divyangjan, are assigned centers within reasonable proximity to their residences. Further, the association sought accountability measures for NBEMS to ensure adherence to transparent, student-centric examination procedures in the future.

FAIMA also wrote to the Union Health Minister and highlighted that several candidates across the country were allocated centers far from their place of residence and native state, and in many cases, in cities entirely different from the four preferred choices indicated during the allotment process.

The association pointed out that far away exam centres would lead to increased travel costs and accommodation expenses. It also highlighted how the monsoon season has caused severe disruptions in transportation, making it challenging for students to book flights and train tickets. 

FAIMA also mentioned that there was a lack of transparency regarding the whole NEET-PG examination process and added, "Crucial information regarding exam results, normalization of scores, exact dates for results, and counseling schedules has not been provided, leading to significant anxiety among students."

Further, it referred to the instances where students were allocated enters in regions not geographically aligned with their state of residence, further complicating their travel and accommodation arrangements.

The association has urged the Minister to reassign exam centers within reasonable distances from students' home states to mitigate excessive travel costs and logistical issues. It also urged the authorities to ensure timely and clear information about exam centers, schedules, normalization procedures, result announcements, and counseling dates are given to the students. Further, it demanded that the authorities address inconsistencies in centre allocations to ensure that the students are not unduly burdened by long-distance travel.

Also Read: What a Mess: NEET PG 2024 Candidates take to social media to resenting Exam Center Allocations