National Board of Examination in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has declared that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2025 will take place in two shifts. According to an official release dated March 17, 2025, the exam is scheduled to be conducted on June 15, 2025, in computer-based mode following a well-laid schedule.
As per the announcement, the exam is to be held in two sessions:
Morning Shift: 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Night Shift: 3:30 PM to 7:00 PM
But this choice has caused much concern among postgraduate medical candidates. Numerous aspirants have reacted on social networking site X (previously known as Twitter) by reminiscing about the complications introduced by the normalization process from last year and fearing the prospect of difficulties faced by a multi-shift format.
Dr. Lakshya Mittal, National President of the United Doctors Front (UDF), criticized this decision through a post on X, questioning why NBEMS chose to conduct NEET PG 2025 in two shifts despite the issues faced in 2024. He pointed out that duplicating the same strategy could again cause the same issues. The post also mentioned that the Unified Doctors Front (UDF) has officially written to the Hon'ble Health Minister, Shri J.P. Nadda, requesting a rethinking of this decision and supporting a single-shift system to promote fairness and transparency.
In a formal letter, Dr. Mittal, on behalf of the UDF—a countrywide organization of thousands of medical students and professionals—shared serious reservations about the decision of NBEMS. The letter asked the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to reconsider and confirm that NEET PG 2025 take place in a single shift, as several problems faced with the two-shift format in 2024 were cited.
Major Concerns for Using the Two-Shift Exam Format:
Normalization Issues: The statistical process employed to standardize scores across various shifts has been extensively criticized because of discrepancies in question paper difficulty levels. Most aspirants complained of discrepancies in final rankings and scores, leading to perceived injustice.
Legal Issues: The two-shift arrangement in NEET PG 2024 resulted in legal issues, such as petitions submitted in the Supreme Court challenging the transparency and fairness of score normalization. Having the exam in a single shift would avoid such legal ambiguities and uphold the credibility of the examination process.
Effect on Mental Well-being of Candidates: Most candidates in 2024 were frustrated with the multi-shift pattern, complaining of added stress and uncertainty regarding their rankings. A single-shift exam would remove these anxieties and regain confidence in the assessment system.
Arguments for Holding NEET PG 2025 in a Single Shift:
Consistent and Equitable Assessment: One-shift pattern guarantees that every candidate responds to the same group of questions in identical conditions, making normalization unnecessary and disputes associated with it avoidable.
Legal Certainty: Conducting the exam in a single shift reduces legal risks regarding possible score differences and differences in question papers.
Increased Transparency and Trust: A uniform examination format encourages greater trust among students and the public in the medical entrance system.
Reactions of Medical Professionals and Aspirants:
A number of doctors and students have used social media to vent their anger over this decision. Dr. Dhruv Chauhan tweeted on X, asking, "If the government can hold One Nation, One Election, why can't it provide One Nation, One Exam?"
Another doctor criticized NBEMS, stating, "Shame on NBEMS—despite having 2-3 lakh students, they still can't conduct the exam in a single shift!"
Another doctor named Dr. Jakir Khan wrote, "I am formally appealing to NBEMS to reconsider its decision and conduct NEET-PG 2025 in a single shift rather than two, as currently planned for June 15, 2025."
Aspirants have also started formally requesting a change in the exam format.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)