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New Delhi: Mounting pressure from the medical community is urging Union Health Minister JP Nadda to intervene and mandate a single-shift format for the upcoming National Eligibility-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2025. Several doctors and prominent associations, including the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), argue that a single shift is essential for fairness, transparency, and maintaining the integrity of this critical examination.
In a formal letter addressed to the Health Minister, FAIMA highlighted that the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had previously abandoned the multiple-shift system in 2017 precisely for reasons of fairness and uniformity. “The rationale was clear: conducting such a crucial national-level examination in a single shift ensures that all candidates receive the same question paper, thereby creating an equitable platform for every aspiring doctor in India,” the association stated in its communication.
FAIMA contends that administering the exam across multiple sessions inherently leads to variations in the difficulty levels of questions and the distribution of topics covered. This disparity necessitates the use of score normalization methods. However, the association pointed out that these methods “have consistently raised concerns among aspirants regarding their reliability and fairness.”
“The variation in question types and difficulty between shifts has been observed and reported in previous years, leading to anxiety, dissatisfaction, and, at times, legal challenges-all of which could delay the admission process,” FAIMA elaborated, underscoring the potential negative consequences of the multi-shift format.
Emphasizing the significance of the exam, FAIMA added, “Given that NEET PG is a defining examination that determines the future of lakhs of young doctors, it is imperative to conduct it in the most transparent and uniform manner possible.” They believe a single-shift exam would bolster the credibility of the results and enhance overall trust in the examination system.
Consequently, FAIMA has urged the Health Ministry to direct the National Board of Examinations (NBE) to conduct the NEET-PG 2025 examination in a single, unified session.
This sentiment is shared by other bodies, including the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors’ Network (IMA-JDN), which also recently appealed to the Union Health Minister on this matter.
The current controversy stems from the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announcing that NEET-PG 2025 is scheduled for June 15, 2025, in two shifts: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM. According to reports from Medical Dialogues, this announcement has sparked dissatisfaction among doctors nationwide, primarily due to reservations about the normalization process. Although normalization algorithms were implemented for NEET-PG 2024 to adjust scores across shifts, critics argue the methodology remains potentially flawed and unfair.
Disclaimer: This news article is based on information provided regarding communications and requests made by medical associations to the Health Ministry. The final decision regarding the format and scheduling of the NEET-PG examination rests with the National Board of Examinations and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
