SC’s NEET PG Reforms Win Doctors Praise, But Double-Shift Doubts Remain

New Delhi: The recent directive by the Supreme Court on NEET PG reforms and asking the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to publish the answer keys, raw scores, and normalisation formula has been welcomed by the members of the medical fraternity.

While the doctors have hailed the step forward towards transparency, they are still awaiting the Apex Court's verdict on the pleas challenging the NEET PG double shift exam.

Currently, two pleas are pending before the Apex Court bench challenging NBE's decision to hold the exam in two shifts. One of these pleas was filed by the United Doctors' Front (UDF), and the other one was filed by a group of petitioners, including Dr Aditi.

Meanwhile, while considering a similar matter, where doctors alleged seat blocking and lack of transparency in the NEET PG counselling process, a Supreme Court Division bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan ordered reforms for PG medical admissions, further asking NBE to publish the raw scores, answer keys, and normalisation formula for the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) exam.

Transparency in the NEET PG exam has been a long-pending demand for doctors. Over the years, pleas have been filed before the Supreme Court seeking directions to the NBE

Also Read: Supreme Court Issues 10-Point Directives for NEET PG Reform

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that back in 2022, the doctors had filed pleas before the Supreme Court alleging serious discrepancies in the NEET-PG 2022 exam. In the plea, the MBBS graduates challenged the decision of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBE) of not releasing the answer keys and question paper for the exam.

Other demands included setting up a High Power Committee for examining the allegations of discrepancies in the scores, directions to NBE for uploading individual OMR answer sheets etc. However, this plea was dismissed in June 2024 as the Court noted that a considerable time had already passed since NEET PG 2022 exam. Again in 2024, a plea was filed seeking the release of answer keys for NEET PG 2024 and more transparency in the exam. The plea is still pending before the Apex Court.

Amid this, the Apex Court's directions to the NBE to publish the raw scores, answer keys, and normalisation formula have turned out to be a very welcome move for the medical fraternity.

Apart from issuing directions to the NBE to ensure transparency in the NEET PG exam, the top court bench ordered for the implementation of a Nationally synchronized counselling calendar to align AIQ and State rounds and prevent seat blocking across systems, mandating Pre-Counselling Fee-Disclosure by all private/ deemed universities, setting up a Centralized Fee Regulation Framework under the National Medical Commission (NMC), permitting to upgrade windows post-round 2 for admitted candidates to shift to better seats without reopening counselling to new entrants etc.

The Court also issued directions for enforcing strict penalties for seat blocking including forfeiture of security deposit, disqualifying from future NEET PG exams, implementing Aadhaar-based seat tracking, holding state and institutional authorities accountable under contempt or disciplinary action for rule or schedule violations, adopting a Uniform Counselling Conduct Code across all States for standard rules on eligibility, mop-up rounds, seat withdrawal, and grievance timelines, and setting up a third-party oversight mechanism under NMC for annual audits of counselling data, compliance, and admission fairness.

Supreme Court Directive a "Turning Point in India's Medical Education System":

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Brijesh Sutaria, a Medical Education Activist from Maharashtra, opined that the Supreme Court's recent judgment on NEET PG counselling marks a turning point in India's medical education system.

He added, "For the first time, the Court has mandated the publication of raw scores, answer keys, and normalization formula to ensure transparency in multi-shift exams. It has directed private and deemed universities to disclose complete fee structures before counselling bringing relief to students and parents facing financial ambiguity. A nationally synchronized counselling calendar, Aadhaar based seat tracking, and penalties for seat blocking are strong steps toward fairness and efficiency. These reforms address long standing concerns, but their true success hinges on timely and uniform implementation by all authorities."

Doctors have also welcomed the Supreme Court's directives to ensure more transparency in the NEET PG exam. Commenting on this, the President of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), Dr Aviral Mathur told Medical Dialogues, "This is a welcome move. Transparency in publishing the answer keys and normalization formula will enhance trust in the NEET PG evaluation process. It ensures fairness, empowers candidates to understand their performance, and aligns with student-centric reforms. A step in the right direction."

Expressing similar views, the Secretary of FORDA, Dr. Meet Ghonia added, "We welcome this directive of the honorable Supreme Court to maintain transparency in exams."

Dr. Rohan Krishnan, a health and medical education activist and the Chief Patron to the FAIMA Doctors Association also welcomed the top court's order. However, he also mentioned that while it is good news that the Supreme Court has issued directives for reforms in the NEET PG exam, on the contrary, it is sad that the National Board of Examinations is functioning so improperly that for even trivial matters like examinations of Postgraduate students, the Apex Court of the country needs to intervene. It is a failure on the part of NBE and FAIMA Doctors Association asks for the resignation of the Chairman and Director of NBE on moral grounds."

"They are not being able to satisfy the students, they are not being able to satisfy the faculty, they are not being able to satisfy anybody by their working pattern and they have completely failed as an organisation, as an exam conducting body of the highest order," he mentioned, further adding that the NBE's decision to hold the exam in two shifts is also a failure on their part.

The National Secretary of the IMA Junior Doctors' Network (JDN), Dr. Indranil Deshmukh also welcomed the Apex Court's directive and opined that "Transparency in evaluation is the foundation of any fair and merit-based examination process, and this move marks a step forward in restoring the trust of lakhs of aspiring postgraduate medical students."

"We appreciate the efforts of the Union Health Minister, the National Medical Commission (NMC), and the NBE for initiating much-needed reforms in medical education and examination systems. Their responsiveness to the concerns of young doctors and the judicial mandate reflects a commitment to transparency, accountability, and academic integrity," he added.

Doctors Await Supreme Court verdict on double shift examination:

While the doctors have welcomed the reforms in the NEET PG exam, they are still awaiting the Apex Court's verdict on the pleas that challenged NBE's decision to hold the upcoming NEET PG 2025 exam, scheduled to take place on June 15, in double shifts.

Referring to this, Dr. Ghonia added, "As this case is separate from cases which are filed by NEET PG candidates this year, we are waiting for final outcome of those cases from honorable supreme court. We are hopeful that final judgment will be in favour of candidates."

The National Secretary of IMA-JDN, Dr. Deshmukh also stated that NEET PG exam should be held in a single shift. Explaning why it is necessary to hold the exam in a single shift, Dr. Deshmukh added, "While normalization is a corrective tool necessitated by multiple shifts in a high-stakes exam, it is not a long-term solution. IMA JDN strongly believes that NEET PG should be conducted in a single shift to ensure a level playing field for all candidates and eliminate the need for complex statistical adjustments that may not fully reflect clinical aptitude or academic merit."

"We request the concerned authorities to take this opportunity to reform the examination system comprehensively, focusing on fairness, uniformity, and transparency values that must underpin the future of medical education in India," he added.

When asked about his opinion on the matter, the National President of FAIMA Doctors Association, Dr. Akshay Dongardive, said, "We want to make it clear that our fight is not about the normalisation formula — our demand is for a single-shift NEET PG examination. A one-shift exam is transparent, fair, and acceptable to all aspirants across the country."

One of the main reasons why the doctors are opposing the double-shift NEET PG examination is that they have raised doubts regarding the normalisation formula. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the normalisation formula, regarding which the aspirants have been expressing their doubts, was introduced to neutralise the effect of tougher or easier papers for NEET PG held in multiple shifts. This formula is used to calculate the score, based on which the merit list is prepared.

However, doctors expressed their concerns regarding the normalisation process. Even though the normalisation formula was introduced for NEET PG 2024 to adjust the scores across different exam shifts to ensure fairness, critics have argued that the process is flawed.