NEET-PG examinations postponed as "precautionary measure"

New Delhi, June 22: Amid the controversies relating to alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-Undergraduate exam 2024, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) has decided to postpone the NEET-Post Graduate exams, an official statement by the Ministry of Health said on Saturday.

The NEET-PG exams were scheduled to be held on June 23, i.e., tomorrow.

"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 National Board of Examination for medical students", said the Health Ministry.

The Health Ministry further said, "It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 23rd June 2024", adding that the fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest.

This decision has been taken in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process, it further stated.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.

The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.

The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.

"In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency (NTA), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on Reform in mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of National Testing Agency," the ministry said.