PUDUCHERRY: The Pondicherry State Students and Parents Welfare Association has urged the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to increase the number of examination centres in Puducherry and Tamil Nadu for the upcoming postgraduate medical entrance examination scheduled on August 3, 2025.
According to the association, over 2,000 candidates from Puducherry alone have applied for the examination, yet very few examination centres are available locally.
As a result, many students have been allotted examination centres in other states, some centres located more than 1,000 km away from their hometown.
In a letter addressed to Dr Abhijat Sheth, president of NBEMS, association president Balasubramanian highlighted the financial strains and travel difficulties faced by thousands of students from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu who have been allotted exam centres in distant states such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Maharashtra.
Similarly, Tamil Nadu, with 2,765 MBBS seats across private and government institutions, has witnessed over 20,000 postgraduate exam applicants. Although there are 24 centres in major cities like Chennai, Tiruchy, Madurai, Salem, and Coimbatore, the association noted that more than 5,000 students from the state have been allotted centres outside Tamil Nadu.