Medicos Irked by Technical Glitches in NBE’s Exam System
KOCHI: The frequent technical glitches in the online exam centres of the National Board of Examination (NBE) have put thousands of medical students in a tough spot.
After an abrupt postponement of the Diplomate of National Board of Centralised Entrance Test (DNB CET) last week, the NBE postponed the All-India Postgraduate Medical Entrance Examination (AIPGMEE) also. The official notice states that the rescheduling of both the exams was a result of technical errors.
The DNB exam was scheduled to be held from November 27 to 29. However, on the first day, some students were not able to write the exam due to certain technical issues with the online system.
“The exam was scheduled to begin at 3.30 pm. We waited until 7.30 pm, hoping that the issue would be solved. We were ready to write the exam even at night. But, the authorities failed to solve the issue, and asked us to return,” said one of the candidates who was to write the exam at a centre in Angamaly.
Candidates who attended the exam at other centres also reported that they faced issues with the system, which delayed the process. Some of the candidates had taken one year off from work to prepare for the DNB test and the AIPGMEE, the durations of which are three hours and three-and-half hours, respectively.
The AIPGMEE was scheduled to be held from December 1 to 6. The candidates who were to write the exam on December 1 alleged that they received the notification of postponement of the examination only on the previous evening. According to the notice published by the NBE on its official site, the exam was postponed at two centres each in Ahmedabad and Chennai; and at one centre each in Chandigarh, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, New Delhi, Noida and Pune.
“I reached Kozhikode on Sunday evening to attend the exam to be held on December 1 at a centre there, but received the notice of postponement around 6 pm on that day. I was clueless whether to return home or to stay back as the authorities did not inform the new date,” said another candidate.
The exam that was scheduled to be held on December 2 has also been postponed, at two centres in Chennai; and at one centre each in Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kozhikode and New Delhi.
Neither the official website nor the support centre provided any update on the rescheduling of the exam, but only informed that the exam would be held before December 20. The conduct of the tests are managed by a US-based company on behalf of the NBE.