New Delhi:

The NEET-PG exam – for admission to postgraduate medical courses – will be held this month, sources told NDTV Tuesday afternoon, after the Home Ministry met officials from the government’s anti-cybercrime body. The question paper will be prepared two hours earlier, sources added.

Scheduled for June 23 the NEET-PG exam was postponed hours before its start amid a row over alleged irregularities, including leaked papers, for the UG exam.

The government had then said it would “undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG, conducted by the National Board of Examinations for medical students”.

The decision, the government said, had been taken in students’ best interest.

The scrapping of the exam – for which lakhs of aspiring medical professionals had enrolled – triggered furious protests, particularly from those who had travelled many kilometres to sit for the exam.

READ | “So Much Pain…”: Outrage After NEET-PG Test Postponed

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan tasked a committee to probe complaints.

The cancellation followed public outcry over the NEET-UG and the UGC-NET test, which confirms professorial appointments to colleges and universities, and is used to award research fellowships.

Possible indiscretions in the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams – Mr Pradhan last month confirmed what students red-flagged, that questions were being sold on the darknet – put the spotlight on the National Testing Agency, which conducts both tests, and which saw its chief, SK Singh, sacked.

The NET re-test – the exam was voided two days after it was held – will be on July 25-27.

The NTA has been criticised by students and parents, as well as the opposition, and, last week, also saw its office in Delhi’s Okhla area briefly captured by a mob from the National Students Union of India – the student wing of the Congress, which has accused BJP of having “destroyed” the education system.

The NTA also faces a notice – to be replied on July 8 – from the Supreme Court.

READ | Supreme Court Notice To Exam Body Over NEET-UG Row

Meanwhile, inquiries into the NEET-UG case, being handled by the CBI, have led to multiple arrests and raids of coaching centres, school premises, and other locations across the country.

Last week the federal agency raided seven locations in Gujarat, and arrested the principal of a school in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh and a journalist from a local Hindi newspaper. Overall the CBI has filed six FIRs, or first information reports, including one it filed when handed the case by the government.

READ | CBI Raids 7 Places In Gujarat Over NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

The other five are for three cases in Bihar and one each in Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Agency sources had earlier told NDTV a nationwide corruption racket may be involved.

The NEET row has spiraled into a massive political conflagration with the Congress-led INDIA bloc, and non-aligned opposition parties, including Naveen Patnaik’s BJD, targeting the ruling BJP.

In Parliament the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge have led the charge, demanding discussions as both Houses debate the Motion of Thanks to President Droupadi Murmu’s address.

Controversy over the NEET exam – nearly 24 lakh students took the May 5 exam – broke last month after results were declared. The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scored a maximum 720. Questions were also asked over the award of ‘grace marks’ – not exam protocol, the NTA said – to 1,563 students.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

Amid an escalating row over alleged irregularities in competitive exams NEET and NET, the Centre has postponed the NEET-Post Graduate exams which were to be held today.

The government said the decision was taken in the best interests of students and to maintain the sanctity of examination.

“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.

Several students and parents expressed anguish after the exam was postponed at the last hour. Many of the students had to travel to other cities to reach their assigned examination centres. 

“Unbelievable. Sir, I unfortunately was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia 6 months earlier. I am in remission now but I have to take oral chemotherapy meds and still prepared day and night for the exam. These people have no idea the difficulty some of us go through,” a student posted on X – earlier known as Twitter.

Unbelievable. Sir, I unfortunately was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia 6 months earlier. I am in remission now but I have to take oral chemotherapy meds and still prepared day and night for the exam. These people have no idea the difficulty some of us go through.

— Kaustav Nayak (@drkaustavnayak) June 22, 2024

“Check this message from my junior. She is a mother now and entire family travelled. Imagine their pain. So much pain for so many students. First keep playing with the exam dates, prepone and now postpone the exams,” an X user said.

Check this message from my junior. She is a mother now and entire family travelled.

Imagine their pain.
So much pain for so many students.

First keep playing with the exam dates, prepone and now postpone the exams.

Doctor bnna aasaan nhi hai is desh me #NEETPGpic.twitter.com/Swe4k96VNV

— Dr. Tanmay Motiwala (@Least_ordinary) June 22, 2024

“I travelled 168 kms , slept n woke to see its postponed. Mera desh mahaan hai,” an aspirant said.

I travelled 168 kms , slept n woke to see its postponed. Mera desh mahaan hai

— DR. Vivek guptha ragi (@frustratedmed) June 22, 2024

“I travelled 470km for exam .i am a resident of Himachal and work in himachal and i have given centre in Haryana’s Hisar by nbems,” a girl said.

I travelled 470km for exam .i am a resident of himachal and work in himachal and i have given centre in hisar haryana by nbems #neetpg

— Akriti (@Akriti_great) June 22, 2024

“What is this? Every other exam has been postponed. Can you imagine how traumatic it could be for students to postpone examinations like #NEETPG one day before the exam? Nobody is giving shit , what’s wrong in conducting exam tomorrow?,” an X user said.

What is this? Every other exam has been postponed. Can you imagine how traumatic it could be for students to postpone examinations like #NEETPG one day before the exam? Nobody is giving shit , what’s wrong in conducting exam tomorrow?#ExamCancelledpic.twitter.com/FXFtF4VPRz

— Mir Waseem (@plzstudyvasu) June 22, 2024

The authorities are under fire over the alleged irregularities in NEET and the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam.

The Centre yesterday removed the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) from his post. Subodh Kumar Singh, who was NTA director general, has been replaced by retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola.

The move came hours after the government constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols, structure and functioning of the NTA.