US-based Prometric won't conduct NEET-PG 2017

The US-based company Prometric Testings that until now conducted the National Eligibility and Entrance Test Post Graduate (NEET-PG) has in a press release informed that it will not be conducting the winter exam in 2017.

Through a release, the company informed that Prometric, the provider of test development and delivery solutions and National Board of Examinations (NBE), the national body for the conduct of postgraduate medical examinations in India, mutually agreed to not conduct the November-December 2017 administration for the National Eligibility-cumulative-Entrance Test for Postgraduates (NEET-PG).

Introduced in December 2012, NEET-PG is an eligibility-cum-ranking examination prescribed as the single entrance examination to various MD/MS and PG Diploma Courses as per Section (10) of Indian Medical Council Act 1956. As the testing partner, Prometric administered more than 400,000 NEET-PG exams to students over the last six years making it one of the world's most sought after high-stakes exam in India.

The release stated that despite the successful conduct of the exam since 2012, Prometric and NBE will terminate the contract for administering the November-December 2017 NEET-PG administration which was to be last administration in its partnership following student demands for single-day testing. Soumitra Roy, Managing Director, Prometric India said, "We are extremely disappointed to not be administering the winter NEET-PG administration under the circumstances. Prometric takes very seriously our responsibility to ensure that systems are secure and that test centres only allow honest candidates to demonstrate their knowledge and qualifications accurately and fairly. We are cognizant of how high-stakes examinations help derive important, life-changing decisions—assisting individuals to realize their human potential. We will continue to support NBE in a smooth transition of its program in the best interests of students and test takers."

Soumitra further added, "With respect to the investigations surrounding test integrity of the NEET-PG, we have been actively cooperating with the Delhi Crime Branch authorities and took swift action to conduct our own thorough internal investigation to support their investigative efforts. We have provided the authorities access to our key technology and operations experts and shared extensive data and video footage to help ensure that any identified perpetrators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. This is a paramount concern to us. We proactively continue to support the authorities in their investigation."