FMGE Row: Expert panel finds no basis for compensatory marks claim

An expert committee has found no objective or statistical evidence of any material impact on the FMGE June 2026 examination outcome, rejecting candidates' demands for compensatory marks over video questions and alleged poor centre arrangements.

Amid ongoing protests by a section of Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE) candidates seeking compensatory marks for video-based questions and alleged inadequate arrangements at certain examination centres.

No Evidence of Material Impact: Expert Committee

According to the sources, the expert committee has found no objective or evidence of any material impact on the examination outcome. "Expert Committee constituted by National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to examine the concerns has found no objective or statistical evidence of any material impact on the examination outcome," sources said.

Detailed Analysis and Findings

Sources told ANI further said, "The Committee undertook a detailed review of the difficulty level of the question paper, video-based questions, examination-centre conditions, candidate performance, attempt-wise results and the applicable regulatory framework. It found that the overall difficulty of FMGE June 2026 was broadly comparable with previous sessions, while the pass percentage remained 12.8% both with all 300 questions and after excluding the 14 video-based questions."

"The Committee also noted that 78% of candidates in Shift-1 and 88% in Shift-2 completed the full paper, and candidates performed better on the video-based questions than on the examination overall," said sources.

Committee has also analysed the concerns regarding centres, sources said. Analysis of centres where concerns regarding heat and ventilation were reported likewise did not show any material difference in examination outcomes.

The Committee therefore found no evidentiary basis for awarding compensatory marks either for video questions or reported temperature-related concerns. Moreover, the Committee cited legal and regulatory constraints in considering the request to award any compensatory/ grace marks in FMGE, the examination scheme of which is broadly governed by the judgement of the Supreme Court of India in the matter of Sanjeev Gupta & Ors vs UOI & Ors (2004).

Recommendations for Future Examinations

However, the Committee has acknowledged the concerns and has recommended further steps regarding transparency, infrastructure, etc. At the same time, acknowledging candidates' concerns, it has recommended several forward-looking measures, including advance familiarity with multimedia questions, stronger examination-centre infrastructure and contingency arrangements, greater transparency by providing candidates access to their recorded responses and marks, consideration of conducting FMGE at least three times a year, review of examination fees, and a greater proportion of lower-difficulty questions in future examinations.

"The Committee's overall assessment is that while there is scope for meaningful improvements in future examinations, the available evidence does not support retrospective alteration of the FMGE June 2026 results or grant of compensatory marks." It said. (ANI)

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