The NEET-PG 2024 entrance examination will be held on August 11 in two shifts, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences announced on Friday. Meanwhile, on the issue of NEET-UG 2024, the Centre has filed a separate affidavit filed in the Supreme Court submitting that it is not rational to scrap the exam, held on May 5, in its entirety.

“In continuation of NBEMS notice dated 22.06.2024, the conduct of NEET-PG 2024 examination has been rescheduled. It will now be conducted on August 11 in two shifts. The cut-off date for eligibility to appear in the NEET-PG 2024 shall continue to be August 15, 2024,” the Board said in a notification. The Health Ministry had earlier decided to postpone the NEET-PG entrance examination, which was slated to be held on June 23, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams.

NEET-UG 2024

Meanwhile, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Centre stated that scrapping the NEET-UG 2024 exam in its entirety would “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates and not be rational in the absence of any proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality, as per agency reports. The top court is scheduled to hear on July 8 a batch of pleas, including those alleging irregularities in the examination held on May 5 and seeking a direction that it be held afresh.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses, has caused a huge uproar across the country over alleged irregularities like question paper leaks and led to mass protests and filing of multiple pleas in courts.

Responding to pleas seeking the scrapping of the controversy-ridden exam, re-testing, and a court-monitored probe, the Union Ministry of Education, in its affidavit, said there was no proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in the examination, which was taken by over 23 lakh candidates at 4,750 centres in 571 cities.

“It is also submitted that at the same time, in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared,” the preliminary affidavit stated.

It also said that the Centre was committed to protecting the interests of lakhs of students who have attempted the question papers fairly and, after years of hard work, without trying to obtain any illegal advantage.

It added the Education Ministry has constituted a high-level committee of experts to suggest effective measures for conducting transparent, smooth and fair examinations by the National Testing Agency.

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