Under fire, MoHFW, NBE in Medical Sciences review NEET-PG exam process

Top officials from the Union health ministry and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences on Monday reviewed the process of the NEET-PG exam, two days after the entrance examination to postgraduate medical courses was postponed.

The National Eligibility Entrance Test (Postgraduate) entrance examination is conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), along with its technical partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), for medical students.

According to sources, senior officers from the TCS were present in the meeting.

The government on Saturday postponed the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held on June 23, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams.

The Monday meeting was held to check the “robustness” of the system for the conduct of the exam in the coming days, sources said.

It was learnt that the TCS top brass briefed about the various aspects of the exam procedure that is followed in the meeting.

“The process of uploading the NEET-PG exam paper starts an hour before the exam is to be held. This time it was postponed as a preventive measure to ensure the exam is held in a transparent and secure manner. New dates will be announced soon depending upon the availability of centres,” the source said.

“Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG entrance examination, conducted by the National Board of Examination for medical students,” the ministry had said on Saturday.

“It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure, to postpone the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow — 23rd June, 2024,” it had stated. PTI