NEET-PG Exam This Month, Question Papers To Be Prepared 2 Hours Prior

NEET-PG Exam 2024: The cancellation of the exam led to angry protests.

The NEET-PG exam, which is for admission to postgraduate medical courses, will take place this month. This information was shared with NDTV on Tuesday afternoon after the Home Ministry met with officials from the government’s anti-cybercrime body. The question paper will be prepared just two hours before the exam, sources added.

Originally scheduled for June 23, the NEET-PG exam was postponed just hours before it was supposed to start. This happened due to a controversy over alleged irregularities, including leaked papers for the undergraduate (UG) exam.

The government had then announced that it would conduct a thorough review of the NEET-PG exam processes, which are managed by the National Board of Examinations for medical students. The government stated that this decision was made in the best interest of the students.

The cancellation of the exam, for which lakhs of aspiring medical professionals had registered, led to furious protests. Many students had traveled long distances to take the exam.

READ | “So Much Pain…”: Outrage After NEET-PG Test Postponed

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan assigned a committee to investigate the complaints.

The cancellation followed public outrage over the NEET-UG and the UGC-NET exams. The UGC-NET exam is used to confirm professorial appointments to colleges and universities and to award research fellowships.

Possible misconduct in the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams was confirmed by Mr. Pradhan last month. He stated that questions were being sold on the darknet, which put the spotlight on the National Testing Agency (NTA). The NTA conducts both tests and saw its chief, SK Singh, removed from his position.

The NET re-test, which was voided two days after it was held, will now take place from July 25-27.

The NTA has faced criticism from students, parents, and the opposition. Last week, its office in Delhi’s Okhla area was briefly taken over by a mob from the National Students Union of India, the student wing of the Congress party. The Congress has accused the BJP of “destroying” the education system.

The NTA also received a notice from the Supreme Court, which it must respond to by July 8.

READ | Supreme Court Notice To Exam Body Over NEET-UG Row

Meanwhile, the CBI is handling inquiries into the NEET-UG case, leading to multiple arrests and raids on coaching centers, school premises, and other locations across the country.

Last week, the federal agency raided seven locations in Gujarat and arrested the principal of a school in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh and a journalist from a local Hindi newspaper. Overall, the CBI has filed six FIRs (First Information Reports), including one it filed when the government handed over the case.

READ | CBI Raids 7 Places In Gujarat Over NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

The other five FIRs are for three cases in Bihar and one each in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Agency sources had earlier told NDTV that a nationwide corruption racket might be involved.

The NEET controversy has turned into a major political issue, with the Congress-led INDIA bloc and other opposition parties, including Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, targeting the ruling BJP.

In Parliament, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have been leading the demand for discussions as both Houses debate the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address.

The controversy over the NEET exam, which nearly 24 lakh students took on May 5, erupted last month after the results were declared. The first signs of trouble were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching center, scored a maximum of 720. Questions were also raised about the award of ‘grace marks’ to 1,563 students, which the NTA said was not part of the exam protocol.

A retest for those 1,563 students was held last week.

READ | NEET UG 2024 Re-Test Results Declared, Check Details

The results were declared on Monday.

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