NEET-PG 2025: Aspirants Demand Single-Shift Exam Saying 'We Want Fairness, Not Favour'

Mumbai: With admit cards for the NEET-PG 2025 exam scheduled to be released on June 2, a growing chorus of aspirants, parents, and activists are demanding that the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) revert to a single-shift format for the high-stakes postgraduate medical entrance test. The call for “fairness, not favour” has reignited concerns about the perceived inequity of conducting the exam in multiple sessions.

In a related development, the Supreme Court of India on Monday agreed to “soon” list two petitions that challenge the conduct of NEET-PG in two separate shifts, with petitioners arguing that the practice introduces unacceptable discrepancies in an exam that can determine not only a candidate’s medical speciality but also their place of study and future career prospects.

Until 2023, NEET-PG had always been conducted in a single shift across the country. However, NBEMS shifted to a two-shift model in 2024 citing a paper leak in the undergraduate examination last year.

“Until 2023, NEET PG was conducted in a single shift—fair, transparent, and without major controversy,” said Brijesh Sutaria, a Mumbai-based medical education activist, speaking to The Free Press Journal.

“Since 2024, the shift to a two-session format has sparked confusion and serious concerns. Why was this change made, especially when India has enough secure computer-based centres to conduct the exam in one shift without any pilferage or leak?”

Sutaria questioned why the NBEMS, which had earlier described its examination system as “foolproof”—with encrypted question papers uploaded only 30 minutes before the exam—needed to change a format that had worked seamlessly for years.

“No public statement has been issued by NBEMS or the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare justifying the need for two shifts,” he added. “Claims that computer centres are inadequate fall flat when the same infrastructure worked flawlessly for years.”

Students preparing for the 2025 exam echoed similar frustrations. “The NEET-PG exam was introduced with the tagline ‘One Nation, One Examination’. Then why can’t NBEMS conduct the exam in a single shift?” asked one aspirant, urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda to intervene. “We are asking for fairness, not favour.”

Another student remarked, “The same thing happened to us last year and many of us suffered because of it. We’ve tried to approach the Supreme Court, but the case keeps getting postponed.”

Aspirants fear that the normalisation process used to equalise scores between two sets of questions does not offer a level playing field in an exam where even a fractional difference in marks can drastically alter outcomes.

“In NEET PG, even one mark—or a decimal point—can shift a candidate’s rank by thousands. Students may then have to settle for specialities or institutions they didn’t choose. In such conditions, it is vital that all candidates answer the same set of questions under the same conditions,” a student wrote in a petition.

They also questioned the validity of the normalisation formula, citing the tie-breaking criteria laid out in the NEET-PG 2025 information bulletin, which considers the number of correct answers in specific sections.

“How can you apply such a formula to a double-shift exam where the difficulty and nature of questions are different? This is absolute injustice,” the student said.

Another aspirant, who also appeared for the exam last year, said, “the difficulty level of question papers in two shifts in 2024 was quite different. The second shift paper, for which I appeared, was tougher than the first shift. I believe that had I been allotted the first shift, I would have secured a better rank.”

She added that she had to take a drop for a year because she could not secure an admission in a course of her choice and in a college of her choice. “Why should my fate be decided by which shift I have been allotted,” she asked.

Citing precedent, students pointed to a 2017 directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, which mandated a single-shift exam following complaints of unfairness during NEET-PG 2016.

“NEET-PG was launched with the motto ‘One Nation, One Exam’. What has changed now? Is it so difficult to conduct such an important exam with fairness and transparency?” asked another aspirant.

As the pressure mounts on the authorities, NEET-PG 2025 aspirants hope that the Supreme Court will prioritise their petitions this week. “NEET-PG aspirants are the future backbone of India’s healthcare system,” said Sutaria.

“They deserve an exam process that is equitable, consistent, and transparent. Justice delayed is not just justice denied—it’s damage done to the merit system and to medical education at large.”