On June 22 evening, as medical students were going through their last leg of the revisions for NEET PG 2024 (exam was scheduled for June 23), the Ministry of Health and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced the postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for postgraduate courses (NEET PG) 2024.
While students were angered by this decision, the NBEMS claims the sole aim behind this postponement was welfare of students and maintaining the integrity of the entrance exam.
Q: Why was NEET PG 2024 postponed?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: I would like to first clarify that there were no reports of a paper leak or any other kind of such issue. Centre wanted to check the robustness of the exam process, and we wanted to be sure that there is no vulnerability in this process.
There were several NTA exams that were cancelled and postponed and there was an environment of vulnerability and tension in the country related to exams. There are some miscreants in our society who take advantage of the vulnerability of students in such tense situations and tell aspirants that they can help them pass the exam for a fixed amount of money. In such cases, they take half payment before the exam and then if the student passes, they claim it is because of them. If the student does not clear the exam, these miscreants run away with their half payment. We wanted to ensure that such a situation does not arise, and this is why the decision to postpone the exam was taken by the Ministry.
Q: …but why was the exam cancelled 12 hours before the scheduled date?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: The Centre believes in ‘better safe than sorry’ and our collective aim is to protect students. We understand that some students had to face problems but we did what the government and our experts thought was best for students. This decision was taken to protect the integrity of the exam, and we simply want to ensure that our students do not fall prey to any fraud. The sensitivity of the information was considered, and accordingly the Ministry took this decision.
Q: Why is the NEET PG being conducted in two shifts now?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: This decision was collectively taken by all stakeholders, and it has been done to improve the logistics. Conducting the exam in two shifts will result in better supervision, better arrangements and co-ordinations in different states and exam centres.
Through this, we are also able to ensure that students do not have travel too far for the exam centres. NBEMS’ priority has always been to ensure that students do not have to travel far for their exam centres, and this is a good point for us to keep reviewing. Now especially after the Radhakrishnan committee, we have to ensure that the students are issued exam centres in the same state as their address. We are mindful about this now.
Q: …students are concerned that the shift system will lead to a discrepancy in the difficulty level?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: Shift system and normalisation process is an old and a legitimate process for same examination in shifts. Students should not worry that it will affect their result. We have a set formula for such situations and we will be following that. However, I would not like to reveal that formula here.
Q: There were reports about FMGE question paper being leaked too…
Dr Abhijat Sheth: No, all social media reports about NEET PG or FMGE question paper leak or sale of question paper are false, and students should be careful about trusting such reports. Such fake reports will keep be circulating as there are people who wish to take undue advantage by making bogus claims in the name of NBEMS.
FMGE and NEET PG are CBT format exams, where the question papers are generated a one or a couple of hours before the exam. The CBT format means that everything is done online and the question paper is not published anywhere. Since the contact is very limited, the possibility of a paper leak is reduced drastically. All students and candidates should only trust the information uploaded by NBEMS on the official website.
Q: Has the government given you any advisory on how to conduct the NEET PG exam now?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: We always seek guidance and expertise from the ministry and we did it this year too. The government conducts a general review of the preparedness of the exam. This is routine process that we have been following. The ministry surely has advised us on a few more points, and we plan to implement them in the future. The advised SoPs are for more audits on application and exam process, some on how to improve human resources, and more. The ministry simply needs assurance from our plan of action that our process is ready and fool-proof. All the points raised by the government are doable, and even though we may not be able to implement them right away, we plan to do it in the near future.
Q: There has been a huge controversy around NEET UG this year, but NBEMS has not faced any such issue till now. Is there any plan of NBEMS taking over the undergraduate exam?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: Not at all, and that is simply because our expertise is in medicine and not on the undergraduate level. The National Testing Agency (NTA) is a mature organisation which is capable of handling the exam.
NEET UG is conducted on the basis of high school education, which is not our expertise. NEET UG and PG exam format, syllabus, aim and process are different and therefore cannot be clubbed together. The Ministries involved are also different.
Q: … would you like to give some advice to NTA on conduction of medical exams?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: I don’t think it is needed. Like I said, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is a mature organisation which is capable of handling the exam. As of now, no query has been raised regarding this, however, if they do come to NBEMS for some advice, we will be happy to help in whatever way possible.
Q: Medical students have often raised the issue of lack of medical seats in the country. Do you think the government should increase the total PG and UG seats?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: Absolutely, an increase in the postgraduate medical seats is required, and this is important but also not that simple. In western countries, usually the postgraduate medical seats are more, but in India we follow a 1:1 ratio for UG and PG medical seats.
Q: But then we do not have that many seats at PG level?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: I believe that all undergraduate students deserve the opportunity of getting a postgraduate degree, but students have to compete for their choice. As of now we usually increase 1,500-2,000 seats every year, but we ideally need to increase by 3,000 per year to bridge the gap between undergraduate and postgraduate students. However, it is important to remember that NBEMS controls only 1/3rd seats, and the rest 2/3rd are controlled by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Q: There are reports and complaints from PG medical students about being overworked and excessive ragging by seniors. There have also been cases of doctors being beaten up by patients’ family members. What is NBEMS’ plan of action on this?
Dr Abhijat Sheth: With regards to the work culture in hospitals for PG students, NBEMS has issued strict guidelines to all institutes and it is asserted that these guidelines are followed by all. The number of such cases is on a decline, and we are hoping that it diminishes in the near future.
As far as the safety of our doctors and PG students is concerned, we have all raised such issues in front of the government and we all (including the Ministry) are working on solving this issue. Meanwhile, we are trying to build a culture of professionalism among our students, which includes communication skills, ethical practices, having proper knowledge about medical procedures etc.
We need to remember that such incidents were not a lot in the past but have increased now because of the complexity of medical practices. So it becomes important for us to inculcate professionalism, communication skills and ethical practices in our PG students during their formative years.
When it comes to mental health of our PG students, we are aware of the rising problem and we have instructed all institutes to have a cell to help students in such situations. There has been an increase in mental health issues and it is also because of the complexity of medical processes now. We want to assure our students and doctors that we are always here for them, and they should reach out to their institutes’ experts for help.
Students should remember that stress is important for motivation but only in a functional limit; beyond functional limit is deleterious. This is something that even the society as a whole needs to take responsibility for, because a lot of this pressure is from society, parents, peers etc.
Dr Abhijat Sheth, President, NBEMS talks to indianexpress.com about what led to cancellation of NEET PG, the future roadmap, FMGE plans, need for increase of medical seats in India and more. (Express photo) 
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