NEET PG 2025 Exam Centre Allotments Spark Student Outrage

The Root of the Crisis

With the NEET-PG exam scheduled for August 3, 2025, thousands of medical aspirants are distressed after discovering that their allotted exam centres are located hundreds of kilometres away from their home states. Many candidates from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have been assigned centres in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, or other distant regions, some requiring over 20 hours of travel.

Why It’s a Big Deal

Long-distance travel: Students face exhausting journeys just before one of the most important exams of their careers.
Emotional and financial strain: The unexpected allocations have increased anxiety, added travel and lodging costs, and created safety concerns, especially for female candidates and those from rural areas.
Lack of transparency: Some candidates only received notifications at the state level without specific city details, making advance planning nearly impossible.

Students and Associations Sound the Alarm

Medical associations and public figures have voiced strong concerns:

The Indian Medical Association – Junior Doctors' Network (IMA-JDN) urged authorities to reopen the centre-change portal, allocate centres closer to students’ homes, and make seat availability transparent.
The Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors’ Association (TNRDA) highlighted cases where students selecting nearby options were still assigned far-off centres, calling for more in-state capacity.
Political leaders have appealed for additional centres in high-demand states, noting that local slots were filled within minutes.
Concerns have been raised about female candidates’ safety, with calls to allow multiple city preferences, ensuring at least one option within the home state.

Understanding the Scale

In Tamil Nadu, about 1,000 candidates out of over 60,000 applicants were allotted centres in other states.
In Kerala, despite having multiple exam centres, many aspirants were placed in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana — in some cases, over 1,300 km from their residence.

Why Action Matters

Fairness & Accessibility: Distance should not disadvantage candidates who have worked hard to prepare.
Equity: Vulnerable groups, particularly women and rural students, bear the greatest burden from poor allocation.
Mental Well-being: The stress of last-minute travel plans can impact performance in a high-stakes exam.

Conclusion

The NEET-PG 2025 exam centre allocation issue is more than an administrative glitch — it’s a question of fairness and equal opportunity. With the exam date approaching fast, medical associations, political leaders, and students are urging swift intervention. Increasing local exam centre capacity, reopening choice portals, and improving allocation transparency are crucial to ensuring no student’s future is compromised by logistical oversights.