India

NEET-PG Aspirants Push Back Against Two-Shift Exam

Aspirants describe the two-shift format as ‘uncertain, opaque and demoralising’.

Credit : Indie Journal

 

Aditi Singh | The Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Network (IMA JDN) has written to the Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, expressing concerns over the decision to conduct the NEET-PG 2025 exam in two shifts. The letter, signed by several senior members of the IMA JDN Standing Committee, describes the two-shift format as ‘uncertain, opaque and demoralising’. The aspirants also flagged that the double-shift model led to fewer centres, resulting in longer and inconvenient travel, right before the exam.

“The government said that due to discrepancies in NEET-UG and logistical constraints, they opted for the two-shift system last year. But this led to a 60 percent reduction in exam centres,” said Dr Indranil Deshmukh, National Secretary of IMA JDN. “Till 2023, almost every district had a centre. But because of the two-shift system, it was reduced to just 40 percent,” he said.

According to Deshmukh, the number of centres was increased only marginally after repeated appeals. “But it wasn’t very beneficial. Many still had to travel long distances and make stay arrangements in very limited time. No travel allowance or accommodation is provided to students,” he said.

 

 

The decision to conduct the NEET-PG in two shifts, they say, has rekindled the apprehension that thousands of postgraduate medical aspirants had last year when the same policy allegedly led to major discrepancies in difficulty levels and rankings between the two sessions. The letter demands that the government immediately review the two-shift model and address the anxiety created among the nearly two lakh aspirants preparing for the exam this year. It also calls for public disclosure of the normalisation process, access to answer keys and response sheets and a wider spread of exam centres, especially in tier two and three districts.

While the National Board of Examinations (NBE) cited logistical constraints in 2024 as the reason for the dual-shift exam, with no such urgency or rescheduling, students and medical professionals alike are asking why the model is being repeated this year.

“Our first concern is for the government to clarify why the two-shift system is being imposed again this year,” Deshmukh said.

The NEET-PG 2024 exam saw two very different test experiences between the shifts. While NBE claimed it used normalisation to account for this, there was no explanation of how scores were adjusted. Last year, several aspirants and educators reported that shift two was considerably more clinical and difficult than shift one, which had more objective-based questions.

 

 

“I was an aspirant last year too and I was assigned the second shift, which was relatively more difficult,” said a doctor from Kerala, who will be appearing again this year. “On top of that, due to a sudden centre change, I had to cancel my bookings for my former centre Visakhapatnam and travel to a new centre in another city. I was three months pregnant at the time, so it was a huge challenge and inconvenience.”

She described the lack of basic support and management at the centre, where she was asked to leave the exam hall to eat outside and access the washroom on a different floor. “It was difficult to manage that along with the exam stress,” she said.

According to IMA JDN, requests made to NBE and the National Medical Commission (NMC) last year to release the answer key and response sheets went unanswered. “When rules and exam patterns are changed so close to the exam, students deserve clarity. Even contacting their helpline number is very difficult. There is no proper grievance redressal,”  Deshmukh said.

Dr Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson of IMA JDN, was assigned shift one last year. “My shift was comparatively easier. The second shift was completely clinical and difficult. When the exam is easier, people are less stressed and their efficiency improves. That’s the fundamental issue with this two-shift model,” he said.

 

 

Chauhan explained that the normalisation method was percentile-based last year and has now changed to score-based, but the mechanics remain opaque. He added that many aspirants invest their entire year into preparing, often without jobs or backup plans. “People spend on coaching, accommodation, and course subscriptions. But this kind of disruption shakes your faith in the system,” he said.

Deshmukh said that this level of uncertainty, especially when rule changes are introduced at the last minute, puts aspirants at serious risk. “These last-minute changes are unfair. Students practised the whole year based on the old pattern, and suddenly, just days before the exam, everything changed.”

The IMA’s National President, Dr Dilip Bhanushali, has secured an appointment with the health minister in the coming days. A delegation of junior doctors is also expected to communicate with NBE officials soon.

“If our demands are not met, we will have to decide our further plan of action,” Deshmukh said. “Two lakh students’ careers are on the line.”

 

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