NEW DELHI: Even as the highly anticipated NEET-PG examination was conducted smoothly across most of India on Sunday, 2,445 medical graduates at two centres in Jaipur could not complete the test due to power supply and technical disruptions, prompting authorities to reschedule it for September 5.
Candidates alleged that the examination started late at the two iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura centres in Jaipur and that computer systems repeatedly shut down after the test began. They said the disruptions occurred multiple times, affecting the conduct of the examination.
Some candidates also complained that a few questions appeared on their computers before the systems shut down completely.
Amid the confusion, candidates staged a protest outside the centres. As hundreds of aggrieved candidates joined the protest, police and the administration reached the spot to maintain law and order.
Social media posts from Jaipur also claimed that the NEET-PG question paper had been leaked. However, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), which conducts the examination, rejected the claim, saying it was “misleading.”
“There has been no question paper leak in the NEET-PG examination,” PIB Fact Check posted on X.
Expressing regret over the disruption at the two Jaipur centres, NBEMS announced that it had constituted a three-member committee to investigate the internal power supply failure.
According to NBEMS sources, the examination could not be completed at the affected centres due to internal power supply issues.
The announcement came after NBEMS said the examination for 2,445 affected candidates at the two Sitapura centres would be conducted afresh on September 5 at 3 pm in Jaipur.
NBEMS also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the affected candidates and said “the re-examination is being conducted to ensure that they receive a fair and equitable opportunity.”
Official sources said the committee, under the chairpersonship of Gayatri Rathore, principal secretary, Union Health and Welfare Department, Government of Rajasthan, had been constituted to examine the circumstances leading to the power supply failure and ascertain the reasons for the disruption at the examination centres in Jaipur.
The committee will include a senior official from the Rajasthan government, a joint secretary-level officer from the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry and a senior engineering official from the Central Electricity Authority.
The committee will examine the matter and submit its report within the stipulated time frame, the sources said.
Official sources said that, apart from the disruption in Jaipur, the examination was conducted in a hassle-free manner at more than 1,100 centres across the country.
“While the examination was successfully completed for the overwhelming majority of candidates nationwide, an unforeseen technical disruption occurred at iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura Centres, Jaipur, Rajasthan (TC Nos. 41682 and 41683), where the examination could not be completed for 2,445 candidates due to internal power supply issues at the test centres, attributable to M/s TCS Ltd., the examination conducting agency,” a statement from NBEMS said.
Taking to X, Dr Rohan Krishnan, Chief Patron, FAIMA, said NBE is equal to "National Bogus Examination."
The examination was scheduled for 2,73,096 candidates across 339 cities, covering all 36 states and Union Territories. A total of 2,65,980 candidates appeared for the examination, with the test successfully completed for approximately 2,63,535 candidates, officials added.
The nationwide examination was supported by extensive real-time monitoring and stringent security measures, they added.
A total of 2,527 faculty members were appointed as independent appraisers to oversee the conduct of the examination. In addition, more than 700 senior faculty members, including deans, directors, medical superintendents and senior professors, were deployed as flying squad members, they further said.
To strengthen coordination and monitoring, 16 NBEMS Regional Command Centres were made operational across the country.
The examination centres were also placed under live CCTV surveillance, which was continuously monitored from the NBEMS Command Centre at its headquarters in Dwarka.
A dedicated team of 190 personnel from NBEMS and TCS was deployed for real-time surveillance and monitoring.
At the dedicated Command Centre at NBEMS headquarters, officials from NBEMS, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, BEL, ECIL and TCS maintained close and continuous oversight of the examination process throughout the day.
As part of measures to further strengthen examination security and prevent impersonation, Aadhaar-based authentication of candidates was successfully undertaken at examination centres.