Today, On 20th May, The Supreme Court postponed the hearing on petitions challenging the NEET PG normalisation process to May 22. The petitions question the fairness and transparency of the method used in this year’s exam.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court set to hear petitions regarding the normalization process for the NEET PG exam on May 22, 2025. Although these cases were scheduled for today, the hearing was postponed due to the Waqf case.
A previous bench, consisting of Justice B R Gavai and Justice A G Masih, noted that the matter was related to the 2024 examination, suggesting that no further hearings were necessary.
However, petitioners argue that normalization continues to be a significant concern for students preparing for the NEET PG 2025 exam.
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These petitions, which address important issues about the exam’s transparency and the fairness of its two-shift format, are closely monitored by aspiring candidates, especially with the exam set for June 15, just weeks away.
Two petitions concerning NEET PG are currently before the Supreme Court. The first, filed by Dr. Ishika Jain and a group of aspirants, demands the release of answer keys, individual scorecards, and the creation of a grievance redressal mechanism for NEET PG 2024. The petitioners assert that the lack of these elements compromises transparency and fairness.
The second petition, submitted by the United Doctors’ Front, contests the two-shift format of NEET PG 2025. It raises concerns about variations in the difficulty of question papers and questions the clarity of the score normalization process, advocating for a more equitable and transparent evaluation system.
The push for a single-shift NEET PG exam arises from increasing worries about fairness, transparency, and consistent evaluation standards. Due to the high number of applicants, the exam is conducted in multiple shifts, each with different question papers. This format has raised several issues highlighted by aspirants and student organizations.
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In 2024, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced the NEET PG results on August 23. Shortly after, many candidates expressed concerns about discrepancies in their results, claiming that inadequate normalization resulted in unexpectedly low ranks.
Numerous aspirants cross-checked their answers against unofficial keys released by coaching institutes and reported inconsistencies, intensifying dissatisfaction with the multi-shift system.
Dr. Anaga, an aspirant, stated,
“If NEET PG 2025 cannot ensure transparency and equal opportunity for all, it should be dissolved, and each state exam authority should conduct its own exam. Justice is not served otherwise. There must be a single-shift exam so everyone gets a fair chance.”
Another aspirant appealed,
“Dear respected faculty members, we humbly request your support in our fight for a single-shift NEET PG exam. Multiple shifts lead to unfairness despite normalization. Your voice can bring change. Please stand with us.”
When the number of candidates for an exam is exceptionally high, it is often conducted in multiple shifts or over several days. In such cases, students in each shift receive different question papers, which can result in some candidates facing easier exams while others tackle more difficult ones. The key issue then is how the difficulty level is determined and adjusted.
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Normalization involves adjusting scores to account for the varying difficulty of different question sets. For example, if an exam includes three sets of question papers A, B, and C the average score of candidates for each set is calculated.
Consider the following averages:
- Candidates who attempted Set A had an average score of 70 marks.
- Candidates who attempted Set B had an average score of 75 marks.
- Candidates who attempted Set C had an average score of 80 marks.
Here, Set C is deemed the easiest, while Set A is the toughest. During normalization, candidates who took the easier set may lose some marks, while those who sat for the tougher set may receive additional marks to balance out the difficulty.