NEET PG 2025: Doctors flag administrative lapses, demand reforms from Health Ministry, NBE

New Delhi: Citing the hardships faced by thousands of NEET PG 2025 aspirants who faced 'administrative failures, procedural opacity, and policy inconsistencies' during PG medical entrance exam conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), the doctors have demanded accountability and reforms from NBEMS and Union Health Ministry.

The Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) pointed out that every year, more than 200,000 MBBS graduates aspire to pursue specialised medical training through NEET PG. However, in 2025, the aspirants of these students "collided with a system that prioritised convenience over fairness, opacity over transparency, and profit over principle," stated FORDA in a release.

NBEMS announced conducting the NEET PG exam in a two-shift exam format in March 2025.

"The reason was not unfounded: two shifts in a single day create vastly different question difficulty levels, and NBEMS's "normalisation" formula—the mathematical adjustment meant to level the playing field—remained shrouded in secrecy. Aspirants weren't asking for Favors. They were asking for fairness. They were asking for transparency. NBEMS refused both," FORDA stated on the format.

When the matter reached the Supreme Court after the applicants challenged the two-shift examination format, the Apex Court declared in May 2025 that the two-shift examinations were "arbitrary" and "unreliable" for high-stakes postgraduate medical admissions, with the judicial bench explicitly stating that normalisation methodologies applied across multiple shifts were fundamentally flawed and posed unacceptable risks to merit-based selection.

"Yet this hard-won victory came at an unconscionable cost—to accommodate single-shift logistics across nearly 900 centres nationwide, NBEMS postponed the exam from June 15 to August 3, 2025, a two-month extension that compounded the psychological torment of aspirants already waiting months to know their futures, extending career stagnation, postponing life decisions, and mounting financial strain for hundreds of thousands of candidates," the association said.

"The irony was stark: justice came wrapped in further injustice, as the Court's recognition of NBEMS' systemic failures became itself another instrument of suffering for the very aspirants it was meant to protect," it added.

The association mentioned that even after the exam was held on August 3, the aspirants continued to suffer, as NBEMS did not provide provisional answer keys.

"Some of the 22 candidates later disqualified for malpractice may have been trapped by flawed keys that were never disclosed. Worse, distant centre allocations forced northern aspirants to Delhi, southern candidates to Chennai-adding Rs 5,000- Rs 10,000 in travel costs to an already expensive exam (24,250 fee)," the release by FORDA pointed out.

Referring to the silent suffering that the candidates had to endure and how it took a financial and emotional toll on them, FORDA added, "Consider a candidate from Kerala, ranked in the top 10%, assigned to a centre in Bangalore. Add exam fee, travel, accommodation, and lost wages. Now add three months of uncertainty waiting for results. The financial burden is real. The emotional toll is immeasurable. For women aspirants, out-of-state centre allocation posed safety concerns. For economically weaker candidates, fees that could have funded medical books became barriers to access."

"Results arrived August 19-after agonising weeks. Yet confusion reigned: 22 candidates were disqualified, with no clear explanation. Families celebrated. Then heartbreak. No appeal mechanism. No transparency," it further mentioned.

The suffering did not end as the candidates had to face delayed counselling, which ideally should begin within weeks. However, the process "limped along for over 110 days. Medical seats remained vacant. Hospitals struggled with staff shortages. Patients faced diagnostic delays."

"Society paid the price. Aspirants couldn't plan their relocations. Hospitals couldn't finalise rosters. Medical students couldn't begin their specialities. Three months of paralysis-for what? Unexplained administrative delays," the association added.

The association further pointed to the recent issue regarding the zero and negative cutoff in the NEET PG 2025 examination.

The release mentioned that on January 15, 2026, NBEMS announced a shocking decision when cutoffs for Round 3 were slashed to zero or even negative percentiles. It added that negative cutoffs meant that the aspirants who scored below the mean became eligible for PG seats. FORDA compared it with a "lottery", "chaos" and "surrendering standards".

Highlighting that India faces a critical doctor shortage, especially an inadequate number of specialists in rural areas and diagnostic delays, FORDA added, "NEET PG 2025's mismanagement didn't just hurt aspirants-it hurt every patient seeking care. When merit is sacrificed, qualified doctors are denied seats. When procedural fairness is ignored, the best candidates lose hope. When transparency is withheld, corruption thrives. When families lose ZS lakhs on fees, travel, and delays for a seat that never materialises, young talent emigrates. NBEMS's actions haven't just created a mess in admissions-they've wounded the healthcare system and the aspirations of an entire generation."

According to the association, ''NEET PG 2025 will be remembered as the year an institution betrayed its mandate- not through isolated mistakes, but through systematic, deliberate choices: opacity in normalisation, denial of answer keys, arbitrary disqualifications, discriminatory centre allocation, exploitative fees, paralytic delays, and the ultimate contempt-zero cutoffs that destroyed merit itself.''

Clarifying that the "new normal" will not be accepted, FORDA demanded accountability, reform, and justice. "The medical community is watching. The courts are watching. The nation is watching. NBEMS & MohFW must answer for what they have done to India's medical future," it added.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues, the National General Secretary of FORDA, Dr. Meet Ghonia, said, "FORDA acknowledges the efforts of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare in managing the NEET-PG examination and counselling process at a national scale. We recognise the administrative and logistical challenges involved in ensuring admissions and optimal utilisation of postgraduate medical seats. At the same time, it is important that the NEET-PG process continues to reflect the principles of merit, transparency, and predictability, which are essential for maintaining the confidence of young doctors. Clarity and timely communication help aspirants plan their academic and professional futures."

Also Read: Doctors' Association Files Plea in Supreme Court Against NEET PG 2025 Reduced Cutoff