New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday expressed dissatisfaction with the policy of the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) regarding the release of the answer key for the NEET-PG examination and sought a detailed explanation on why candidates are being provided only limited access to it.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha and Alok Aradhe directed NBEMS to file a written response clarifying how permitting candidates to retain a copy of the question paper would affect the integrity of the examination.
In its order, the bench stated: “The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) shall place on record in writing its stand as to how the disclosure of the questions would affect the integrity of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET-PG) examinations.”
During the hearing, a lawyer appearing in the matter questioned NBEMS’s reluctance to disclose the questions, pointing out that previous years’ NEET-PG question papers were readily available for sale on Amazon.
Counsel for NBEMS argued that the number of questions is limited and that experts from across the country had contributed to preparing the question bank, making it a national asset.
Justice Narasimha observed: “What about transparency? You need to explain more about what you are doing. We are not fully satisfied. You have to explain to us precisely why your position is different from any other examination.”
It was further submitted before the court that if NBEMS were to start disclosing the questions every year, the entire question bank would become public within the next five to six years. The counsel added that it was a difficult document and that the board did not want candidates to have “the key to it.”
The bench is hearing a batch of petitions that raise several issues related to the NEET-PG examinations, including the demand for disclosure of the answer key in the interest of transparency.
