As many as 38,000 candidates registered themselves online within the first 24 hours for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduates (NEET-PG), according to data made available by Prometric, the provider of testing services for the exam. The registration window for the national online exam opened on Thursday and will close on November 12.
The new qualifying-cum-entrance examination will be conducted by the National Board of Examinations (NBE) between November 23 and December 6 at selected test centres in 33 cities. The single, mandatory test for admissions to PG medical courses will be online.
Not without problems
But complaints have already started pouring in from candidates. The father of a PG seat aspirant expressed his dissatisfaction with the entire process. When he logged on to register for his son’s exam centre, he was shocked to find that all the centres in Bangalore were full on the very first day.
“There were no centres in Bangalore when I logged in. Now my son has to travel to New Delhi to take this exam and I have to spend Rs.10,000 on airfare.”
Tight schedules
Another PG medical seat aspirant spoke about the tight schedule as other entrance exams were lined up around the same time. He said: “The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) exam is on November 18, Diplomate of National Board (DNB) exam is from November 17 to 20. The NEET exam is scheduled between November 23 and December 6. As the exams have been advanced, our entire study schedule is affected.”
Students also said that the website crashed by Thursday afternoon. Although all the centres were full by Thursday night, some centres were added on Friday morning which brought some relief to students.
First come, first served
However, a press release from Prometric India managing director Soumitra Roy said: “Depending on candidates’ Internet connection speed and the number of candidates accessing the registration system, some waiting time can be expected. While we will endeavour to offer as many seats as feasible in candidates’ preferred locations, availability is on a first come, first served basis, and we encourage all candidates to select the best available exam slot, register and complete their sessions as quickly as possible.”
