The Ministry of Health has announced that the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed. A new date for the examination will be announced soon.
The exam, taken by medical students seeking to qualify for postgraduate courses, has been delayed amid allegations of irregularities in several competitive examinations in the country.
In a statement, the health ministry said the decision was made "in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process".
The NEET-PG examination is conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), a separate entity from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is facing allegations of exam irregularities and paper leaks in other exams. The body was also responsible for the UGC-NET test that had to be cancelled a day later due to a paper-leak.
The Ministry of Health has decided to conduct a thorough review of the NEET-PG examination process. The ministry statement said: “Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG Entrance Examination…”.
As a precautionary measure, the ministry said, “It has accordingly been decided to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 23rd June, 2024.”
Earlier today, the government constituted a high-level committee to investigate and improve the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts various competitive examinations. The committee will be headed by former ISRO chief Dr K Radhakrishnan and includes prominent academicians and experts.
“The committee will make recommendations on reforming the mechanism of the examination process and improving data security protocols and the structure and functioning of NTA,” the Ministry of Education said in a press release.
Centre Friday notified also stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations.
The law which came into force from Friday night (June 21) is said to entail provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders.
