Posted By :  Admin1

Doctors across the country have raised serious concerns over the conduct of the NEET PG 2025 examination, citing multiple administrative shortcomings and calling for urgent reforms from the Union Health Ministry and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS).

The Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) has flagged what it described as systemic failures in the examination and admission process, arguing that these lapses have undermined transparency, fairness and merit-based selection in postgraduate medical education. One of the primary concerns highlighted was the decision to conduct the examination in two shifts, which doctors say resulted in variations in question difficulty and a lack of clarity regarding the normalisation process.

The issue reached the Supreme Court, which reportedly termed the two-shift format arbitrary and unreliable for a high-stakes examination like NEET PG. Following the court’s observations, NBEMS rescheduled the examination from June 15 to August 3, 2025. However, doctors noted that the postponement added to the uncertainty and stress faced by thousands of aspirants.

Additional grievances were raised regarding delays in releasing provisional answer keys and insufficient transparency in handling alleged malpractice cases. Doctors also pointed out that many candidates were allotted examination centres far from their home states, increasing financial and logistical burdens, particularly for women candidates and those from economically weaker backgrounds.

FORDA further criticised the prolonged delay in the counselling process, stating that counselling began more than three months after the declaration of results on August 19. According to the association, this delay left a large number of postgraduate medical seats vacant and adversely affected hospital staffing and patient care services across several states.

The recent decision to lower qualifying cut-offs, including zero or negative percentiles in certain categories, has also drawn sharp criticism from the medical community. Doctors have warned that such measures, aimed at filling vacant seats, could dilute academic standards and compromise the quality of specialist medical training.

Calling for comprehensive reforms, FORDA has urged the Health Ministry and NBEMS to ensure transparent examination practices, timely release of answer keys, a clear and uniform normalisation mechanism, and an effective grievance redressal system. The association has also sought a broader review of policies governing postgraduate medical admissions to protect meritocracy and strengthen the country’s healthcare system.