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

New Delhi: The NEET PG 2024 aspirants are upset over the exam cities allotted to them by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

Taking to social media platform 'X', candidates have alleged that they have been allotted centers at faraway locations and those centers were allegedly last on their preference list.

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

NBE had earlier informed that the exam city allotted to the candidates would be informed through email to all the concerned candidates. It was announced that the exam centre venue in the allotted exam city would be informed through the admit card, which would be released on the NBEMS website on 8th August 2024.

Accordingly, yesterday i.e. on July 31, 2024, students received information about their exam cities. However, they have claimed that NBE allotted them cities which 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.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) an aspirant wrote, "Feeling frustrated as #NBEMS assigns #NEETPG centers randomly.I've been given Delhi NCR, 850km from my residence, despite Srinagar and Jammu being nearer options.They promised 2 shifts to minimize travel, but this is causing undue stress and inconvenience.This is a mess! #NEETPG."

"NBE Please refund Neet PG application Fee. Not interested in spending 20000 additionally in flights to travel 1000 KM. Biggest stupidity and mockery of a reputed exam," wrote another user.

Alleging that by allotting exam centres so far away, NBE was causing them additional stress, another aspirant wrote in an X (formerly Twitter) post, "In the process of trying to make NEETPG24 fair ,you have made it very "UNFAIR" for the aspirants. Some are not getting train tickets ? Flights can get delayed or cancelled ? HARSH WEATHER ? It's like the most troublesome MESS ! Rethink & RE-ALLOCATE"

Some of the users pointed out how NBE did not pay attention to the preferred exam cities of the candidates. Raising this issue, an X user wrote, "It seems like the NEET PG 2024 exam center allocations are designed to promote #tourism across India. This is just one of many. Some students have got centres 800 km away. Preferred city - 1) Prayagraj 2) Varanasi 3) Lucknow 4) Kanpur Allotted City - Patna"

Highlighting a similar issue, another X post stated, "My #neetpg test city is 864 km from my home & it is not selected by me during selection process & we will get our admit card only on aug 8 .We don't know our shift & where exactly the test centre is located & all tickets are unavailable It is a complete mess @NMC_IMA_IND #NBEMS"

Another user pointed out that considering the natural disasters, it might take much longer than expected to reach the exam city. "Can NBE answer me how to travel for such long? Bookings, Floods, Room Availablity? ROUTES ARE AFFECTED, TRAIN DELAYS, FLIGHTS RATES HIKES? Stop playing with lives !" the user wrote in an X post.

Claiming that candidates who applied later got exam centres located in their cities, an user wrote, "I got allocated to a center in another state that's like 300 km away from my hometown. Meanwhile, my friends who applied after me got their home centers. What the heck is going on? And now I'm worried about flood & all in Silchar. This is a total mess & chaos #NEETPG #NEETPG2024"

Referring to NBE's earlier decision to hold the NEET PG 2024 exam in two shifts to ensure that the students do not have to travel far, a user mentioned, "In this vid he told us that they r conducting 2 shifts so students dont have to travel far away. The purpose of 2 shifts was to only make students get their nearest centers. But now we all can see it was a scam, thats why we getting mails as "spam""

Health Activist Dr. Dhruv Chauhan shared the message of a NEET PG aspirant with locomotor disability, who has been allotted exam city more than 500 km away from home. Referring to this, Dr. Chauhan wrote on X, "Dear @narendramodi ji , once you said that physically disabled people should be called “Divyang” and respected Is this the respect you were talking about when your Education and Health ministry can’t even respect their disability ! This is shameful !"

Kerala Candidates Allotted Centres in Andhra Pradesh: 

Highlighting that the NEET PG 2024 candidates from Kerala have been allotted exam centres in Andhra Pradesh, Parliament Member Shri John Brittas raised the issue to the Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda.

"...the list published by the NBEMS on the night of July 31, 2024, has left Kerala candidates dismayed. A majority of them have been allotted examination centres in Andhra Pradesh, a state far away from Kerala by around 1000 KMs. It is learnt that similar challenges are being faced by candidates from other States as well, making it a pan-India issue that needs urgent attention. Furthermore, the list only indicates the State and area, without specifying the exact name and location of the examination centre, which will be disclosed only on August 8, two days before the examination. This ambiguity exacerbates the candidates' plight, making it extremely challenging to secure travel tickets on such short notice," mentioned the letter by Shri John Brittas.

He pointed out that this will adversely affect the prospects of meritorious students from economically weaker sections, considering the huge expenses to be incurred for travel and accommodation to such far-off places. Candidates with family members, especially female candidates, and those who are pregnant will also face immense difficulties, he pointed out.

Highlighting that around 10,000 MBBS doctors from Kerala are set to appear in NEET PG 2024, Shri Brittas added in the letter, "Many of these doctors are currently voluntarily engaged in the rescue and treatment efforts for the victims of the Wayanad landslide tragedy. Requiring them to leave Kerala for several days to attend the examination will not only cause personal hardship but will also impact the ongoing rescue and medical efforts in Wayanad."

He has urged the Union Health Minister to take swift action in re-allotting examination centres within Kerala for these candidates and further implement corrective measures for the candidates from other States as well.

This year's NEET-PG 2024 examination, was previously scheduled to be conducted on June 23 2024. However, the PG medical entrance test will now be held on 11th August 2024 in two shifts. NBEMS will release the admit cards for the exam on August 8, 2024.

Also Read: NEET PG 2024 Exam City Allotment Slip To Be Released Tomorrow, Admit card August 8