Did the SC Just Order NBE to Hold NEET-PG 2025 in a Single Shift?

Synopsis
In a groundbreaking ruling, the Supreme Court has ordered the NBE to conduct NEET-PG 2025 in a single shift, ensuring fairness for all candidates. This decision addresses concerns over transparency and consistency in the examination process, potentially impacting thousands of medical aspirants.
Key Takeaways
- Supreme Court orders NEET-PG 2025 in a single shift.
- Criticism of NBE's two-shift examination practice.
- Concerns over fairness and transparency addressed.
- Petitioners highlighted adverse effects on medical students.
- NEET-PG has traditionally been a single-day examination.
New Delhi, May 30 (NationPress) The Supreme Court has criticized the National Board of Examinations (NBE) for its decision to conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET)-PG 2025 in two separate shifts. A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath stated that administering the examination in multiple shifts introduces arbitrariness, compromising the fairness for candidates.
“The examination papers across two shifts can never maintain an identical difficulty level. While last year’s NEET-PG 2024 was conducted in two shifts due to specific circumstances, the examining authority should have opted for a single shift this time,” the Bench, which also included Justices Sanjay Kumar and N.K. Anjaria, remarked.
The apex court was reviewing several petitions that questioned the transparency surrounding the NEET-PG examination.
In their petitions, NEET-PG candidates asserted that the implementation of two shifts, the normalization process, and alterations to the tie-breaker rules have negatively impacted medical students.
The petitioners argued that the NEET-PG information bulletin could be altered at the discretion of the authorities, with no established rules governing the examination's administration.
Additionally, they contested the NBE's decision not to make question papers, answer keys, or candidates' response sheets available.
The petition highlighted that NEET-PG had always been a single-shift examination, aimed at ensuring a consistent standard and fairness for this national assessment.
One of the petitions, represented by advocate Parul Shukla, pointed out that unlike previous years, when candidates received their total scores along with the tally of correctly and incorrectly answered questions, the results for NEET-PG 2024 did not include their total scores.
Recently, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre, NBE, and NMC (National Medical Commission) concerning a plea filed by the United Doctors Front (UDF) that challenges the two-shift format for the NEET-PG 2025 examination.
The plea requests the Supreme Court’s intervention to ensure NEET-PG 2025 occurs in a single, uniform session, along with seeking an interim stay on the examination set for June 15.