The NEET PG exam for 2022 is scheduled for March 12, while the counselling for the 2021 exam is scheduled to end on March 16.
Mumbai: Days after the National Board of Examinations (NBE) announced the schedule for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Postgraduate) or NEET PG, thousands of junior doctors and MBBS students have reached out to National Medical Council demanding postponement of the paper, as over 8,000 students who are currently interning may have to miss out on NEET-PG scheduled for March. The doctors said the exam schedule is clashing with the NEET PG 2021 counselling, for which the process is underway. The NEET PG exam for 2022 is scheduled for March 12, while the counselling for the 2021 exam is scheduled to end on March 16.
The Gujarat Intern Doctors’ Association in a letter to a member of the National Medical Council said that if exams are not rescheduled, students who are interning, and have not completed 12 months of internship needed to be eligible for the NEET-PG exams, will miss the the opportunity to appear for the exam. In case the exams are not postponesm the students demanded that eligibility criteria–that require completion of internship on May 31 or June 30– for appearing in NEET-PG in 2022 should be revised if the exam is conducted on March 12.
The Maharashtra based Junior Doctors Network of Indian Medical Association (IMA) also reached out to Maharashtra Medical Council and National Medical Commission regarding the matter. In the letter to the President of Maharashtra Medical Council, the Junior Doctors Network noted that a total of 8032 students from states like– Kerala, Bihar, Gujarat, Janunu and Kashmir, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odhisha, are completing their internship on or after June 31st 2022.
“These students have endlessly worked during Covid and the delay in their exams was also due to Covid. According to the recently released guidelines for eligibility criteria from National Board Education these students are not eligible for NEET PG 2022. This will lead to one year loss in their academic careers with no mistake of their own,” the letter said.
SC Hearing on EWS
The doctors noted that Supreme Court’s next hearing about EWS criteria and reservation criteria is scheduled in March 2022. Without the hearing, conducting the exam would again lead to chaos and delaying of counselling as we have already experienced for NEET PG 2021.
Delay in NEET PG 2021 Counselling
The letter noted that all the students who have received average marks in NEET PG 2021 and are in the process of counselling have been unsure if they will be placed in the college. “Delay in the counselling has left them confused and they have had no time to study as the mop-up round is scheduled on 12th March 2022. Had there been no delay in the counselling then a gap of six months was sufficient but now it’s not possible for them to appear for another exam in just two months,” it added.
Notably, NEET PG 2022 is being conducted in March to increase the workforce for the Covid. But, doctors noted that with not even six months gap in the admissions from the two different exams it will lead to chaos and improper functioning of the colleges and hospitals.
The letter said almost 40 per cent of the total students applying for the exam are left confused, with most of them not even eligible to apply, and urged the medical body to postporn the exam to the last week of May or first week of June. The doctors said the move wil save one year of all the candidates (those who finish internship in June, August, October, as they will be eligible for the exam.
Further, the doctors said with a six months gap between two counselling it will be helpful to form two different batches with less chaos and ensuring efficient residents. “If the exam is to be conducted in May or June it will still ensure that the next NEET/NEXT 2023 to be conducted in March 2023 with at least a ten month gap between the two,” they added.
