NEET PG 2025: Aspirants voice concern as centre allotments ignore preferences

With NEET PG 2025 scheduled for August 3 in a single shift, following opposition to the earlier two-shift format, aspirants are now expressing concern over their exam centre allotments. Thousands of candidates have reported being assigned centres in states far from their home state, despite opting for nearby locations.

Also read | NEET PG 2025 can't be held in two shifts, rules Supreme Court

The NEET PG 2025 exam was initially scheduled for June 15, but was postponed to August 3, as announced by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). The postponement followed a Supreme Court directive on May 30, mandating a single-shift exam to ensure fairness and transparency, rejecting the proposed two-shift format due to potential disparities in difficulty levels.

Centres in other states

The move to a single-session exam required the NBEMS to secure additional test centres and infrastructure to accommodate over 2.42 lakh candidates across 233 cities, contributing to the postponement. However, aspirants claim the arrangements have fallen short, with many reporting that despite selecting preferred locations within their own city, they have been allotted centres in distant states. As a result, a large number of candidates now face long, costly, and stressful journeys to unfamiliar destinations.

This disparity raises concerns about fairness and may significantly impact students’ mental well-being and performance in this high-stakes, once-a-year exam. Dr Krupa R Kumar, a NEET PG aspirant from Karnataka, had applied for a centre in Bengaluru but was instead allotted Rajampet in Andhra Pradesh. While aspirants understand that preferred centres are not always granted, being assigned to a different state has added to the stress and uncertainty after the delay in the NEET PG examination this year.

“We’re extremely disappointed that we weren’t even given three alternative options to help us plan in advance. NBEMS opened the portal twice, asking only for the city preference, yet many of us were still allotted centres in another state. The area I’ve been assigned isn’t well developed, and I couldn’t find proper accommodation nearby, most hotels were booked within minutes. I had to settle for one 50 km away in Kadapa. It also appears that the 'first come, first serve' rule hasn’t been followed,” Krupa told The Federal.

Inadequate exam centres

While NBEMS is well aware of the number of candidates appearing from each state, the shortage of adequate examination centres appears to be a key issue. Dr Sreeja A, a NEET PG aspirant from Tamil Nadu, told The Federal that several students who had selected Chennai as their preferred location were instead allotted centres in Sathupally, Andhra Pradesh. She noted that this not only creates a financial and logistical burden but also adds significant stress just before the exam. Dr Sreeja criticised NBEMS for poor centre planning following the Supreme Court’s directive for a single-shift exam.

In 2024 as well, NEET PG faced multiple postponements, and similar centre allocation issues resulted in wasted time and resources, with many students having travelled long distances, only to have the exam cancelled less than 12 hours before it was scheduled. Aspirants now fear a repeat of that chaos, citing ongoing concerns over NBEMS’s mismanagement.

Shockingly, some students were allotted examination centres in the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat without any specific city being mentioned. In several cases, candidates were assigned centres that were not even listed among the official choices during the application process.

Admit cards on July 31

“One of the candidates in Maharashtra has been allotted Akola as the NEET PG 2025 exam centre, despite Akola not being listed among the official choices during the application process. Since it was not available for selection, the candidate is seeking clarification from NBEMS and requests a change of centre to the originally selected centre that was Nagpur,” said Dr Chinmay Akre, General Secretary, IMA Junior Doctors’ Network, Maharashtra, told The Federal.

Also read | Why not One Nation One Exam? NEET PG aspirants oppose two-shift test

The admit cards for NEET PG are set to be released on July 31, and NBEMS had earlier stated that no changes to allotted exam centres would be allowed after the June 17 deadline. However, in light of the widespread allotment issues, many students are now urging the Union Health Ministry and the National Board of Examinations to reopen the exam centre change portal, allowing affected candidates to choose centres within their home state or a nearby location.

The Indian Medical Association’s Junior Doctors Network (IMA JDN) has appealed to Union Health Minister JP Nadda, but no response has been received from the ministry yet, leaving thousands of aspirants in continued uncertainty just days before the exam.