News Analysis India

Tag: NEET PG Exam

  • NEET PG 2023 will be held on March 5, Mandaviya

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Putting an end to demands by students and doctors’ associations for extending the date of the NEET-PG exam, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said it would be conducted as per schedule on March 5. 

    To ensure that no one is left out, the ministry has extended the cut-off date for all those MBBS students who are yet to complete their internship, he said while replying to a question by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi in the Lok Sabha.

    Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, Gogoi sought to know from Mandaviya about his ministry’s stand on the students’ demand for the postponement of the NEET-PG 2023 examination for a few months.

    “On March 5, the examination has to be conducted, and this was declared five months ago. Those students, who had to appear for it (entrance test), are already preparing,” the minister said. 

    “Earlier examinations were delayed by seven-eight months and later by four months….If I keep delaying, such a situation will come….,” he said, adding, “It is essential to fix it”. 

    The minister said it is necessary to conduct the entrance test on time. For those who are yet to complete their internship, Mandavia said his ministry has already extended the cut-off date.  

    “I have extended the cut-off date so that all students get a chance to appear for the NEET-PG exam, clear it and take admission in PG (postgraduate medical courses),” he said. 

    The ministry extended the cut-off date from June 30 to August 11 for the NEET-PG aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship. 

    The ministry had said that considering the future of more than 13,000 MBBS students across five states/UTs, who were not eligible for the NEET PG 2023 exam due to delayed internship, it has been decided to extend the last date of completion of the internship for eligibility to August 11. The ministry also said that more than 3,000 BDS students across states/UTs were not eligible for the NEET MDS exam due to delayed internships. So to benefit them, the last date of completion of the training for eligibility has been extended to June 30.

    NEET-PG aspirants and several doctors’ associations have been demanding the postponement of the entrance test.

    Citing the delay in completion of their internship, NEET PG aspirants, who also took out social media campaigns, along with the doctor’s association also protested at Jantar Mantar to press for their demands on February 7. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also urged the health minister to postpone the exam.

    According to Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman FAIMA Doctors Association, “It is sad that the health minister has not listened to the aspirants’ demands.”

    “We want to make it clear that the exam date was given three months back and not five months before as the minister has said. He (the minister) has also said that he wants to bring normalcy after the Covid pandemic. But I want to ask that if you are conducting the exam in March, then guarantee that the counselling will happen in March end or April. Currently, the eligibility criteria have been extended till July, and everyone is eligible. 

    “It is impossible to conduct counselling before August-September. If the counselling is going to start in August-September and admission in October-November, why are you holding the exam in March.” 

    Dr Aviral Mathur, President of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association, which met the health minister to discuss the concerns of the students, said, “We believe that this decision today could’ve been in the best interests of the students and still would not have negatively impacted the overall admission process timeline. However, the situation may not always align with our desires.”

    NEW DELHI: Putting an end to demands by students and doctors’ associations for extending the date of the NEET-PG exam, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said it would be conducted as per schedule on March 5. 

    To ensure that no one is left out, the ministry has extended the cut-off date for all those MBBS students who are yet to complete their internship, he said while replying to a question by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi in the Lok Sabha.

    Raising the issue in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour, Gogoi sought to know from Mandaviya about his ministry’s stand on the students’ demand for the postponement of the NEET-PG 2023 examination for a few months.

    “On March 5, the examination has to be conducted, and this was declared five months ago. Those students, who had to appear for it (entrance test), are already preparing,” the minister said. 

    “Earlier examinations were delayed by seven-eight months and later by four months….If I keep delaying, such a situation will come….,” he said, adding, “It is essential to fix it”. 

    The minister said it is necessary to conduct the entrance test on time. For those who are yet to complete their internship, Mandavia said his ministry has already extended the cut-off date.  

    “I have extended the cut-off date so that all students get a chance to appear for the NEET-PG exam, clear it and take admission in PG (postgraduate medical courses),” he said. 

    The ministry extended the cut-off date from June 30 to August 11 for the NEET-PG aspirants to complete their mandatory one-year internship. 

    The ministry had said that considering the future of more than 13,000 MBBS students across five states/UTs, who were not eligible for the NEET PG 2023 exam due to delayed internship, it has been decided to extend the last date of completion of the internship for eligibility to August 11. The ministry also said that more than 3,000 BDS students across states/UTs were not eligible for the NEET MDS exam due to delayed internships. So to benefit them, the last date of completion of the training for eligibility has been extended to June 30.

    NEET-PG aspirants and several doctors’ associations have been demanding the postponement of the entrance test.

    Citing the delay in completion of their internship, NEET PG aspirants, who also took out social media campaigns, along with the doctor’s association also protested at Jantar Mantar to press for their demands on February 7. The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had also urged the health minister to postpone the exam.

    According to Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman FAIMA Doctors Association, “It is sad that the health minister has not listened to the aspirants’ demands.”

    “We want to make it clear that the exam date was given three months back and not five months before as the minister has said. He (the minister) has also said that he wants to bring normalcy after the Covid pandemic. But I want to ask that if you are conducting the exam in March, then guarantee that the counselling will happen in March end or April. Currently, the eligibility criteria have been extended till July, and everyone is eligible. 

    “It is impossible to conduct counselling before August-September. If the counselling is going to start in August-September and admission in October-November, why are you holding the exam in March.” 

    Dr Aviral Mathur, President of the Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association, which met the health minister to discuss the concerns of the students, said, “We believe that this decision today could’ve been in the best interests of the students and still would not have negatively impacted the overall admission process timeline. However, the situation may not always align with our desires.”

  • SC to hear on May 13 plea for postponement of NEET-PG 2022 examination

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on May 13 a plea of doctors seeking postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2022 which is scheduled to be held on May 21 on the ground that it will clash with the ongoing counselling for NEET-PG 2021.

    A bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha said that it will hear the matter which is already listed for hearing on Friday after senior advocate Rakesh Khanna mentioned for urgent listing of the petition.

    The bench asked Khanna whether the petitioners want postponement of the examination to which he replied in affirmative.

    Justice Chandrachud said, “How can we postpone a national examination? Anyway we will hear it next week”.

    Khanna said that the matter is already listed for Friday to which the bench said then it will hear it on May 13.

    The plea filed through advocates Ashutosh Dubey and Abhishek Chauhan said, “The petitioners are the doctors who are doing their requisite internship with different hospitals across the country.

    The petitioners aspire to appear in NEET-PG examination 2022 scheduled to be held on May 21 for the purpose of choosing their career option as per their ranking, choice, and available options to them under different branches of medical science for Post-Graduation Courses”.

    The plea sought direction to quash the notification dated February 4 issued by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences for holding the NEET PG-2022 examination on May 21 and or defer the scheduled date of the examination.

    It said that some of the petitioners and aspirants are the candidates who have appeared in NEET-PG 2021 and are participants in the ongoing counselling process which is unlikely to get concluded by May 9, 2022, considering the roller-coaster ride which they have been subjected to since July 2021.

    “The petitioners and other thousands of aspirants are becoming victims of the system and are made to suffer for no fault of their own”, the plea said, which has been filed by 15 doctors who have done their MBBS courses.

    The plea said it raises substantial and important questions of law like as to why should NEET-PG 2022 aspirants/candidates be made to suffer and not be given a fair opportunity for participation in the NEET-PG examination 2022 when the counselling of last academic year NEET-PG 2021 is still undergoing and likely to be over by May 9.

    It further raised the question of whether the petitioners can be deprived of even filling up forms for the NEET-PG examination 2022, as the last date for it was closed on March 25 and the petitioners being participants in AIQ Mop-UP counselling did not fill out a form than in the hope of getting the seat and now after the cancellation of AIQ Mop-UP on March 31 because of the fault of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) and others.

    It said that the petitioners are now not even allowed to fill forms for the NEET-PG examination and thus the candidates neither got the seat in 2021 examination counselling nor could register for NEET-PG 2022 examination and would be wasting a full year without their fault.

    The plea raised several other substantial questions of law.

    It said, “Thus it is stated that the present petition is filed with an intention to secure the future of the petitioners allowing them to excel in the educational sphere of their life.

    It is submitted that NEET-PG 2022 aspirants/candidates should not be made to suffer and be given a fair opportunity to participate in the NEET-PG examination 2022 when the counselling of last year’s NEET-PG 2021 is still undergoing and likely to be over by May 9”.

    The plea further said that there was a delay in conducting the NEET-PG 2021 examination to ensure the availability of a larger number of qualified doctors for COVID duties and the examination was finally conducted in September 2021, five months after the scheduled date, resultantly because of this delay, the candidates have practically lost a year of their careers.

    “That the respondents have erred in not considering that the NEET-PG 2022 examination was rescheduled from March 12, 2022, to that of May 21, 2022, as the counselling of NEET-PG 2021 was not over and overlapping with the examination date”, it said.

    The plea sought MCC to notify a fresh date of examination for NEET-PG 2022 after eight weeks so that the issue of counselling for the NEET-PG 2021 examination gets settled and there is no overlap with NEET-PG 2022 examination.

    It also sought direction to MCC and Centre to permit the students/aspirants to register themselves for the NEET-PG 2022 examination as they were participating in counselling for NEET-PG 2021 examination and the last date of filling the form was of March 25.

  • Medical aspirants urge PM Narendra Modi for postponing NEET PG 2022 exam

    By PTI

    NOIDA: Over 15,000 National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) 2022 aspirants on Friday submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging that the upcoming post graduate examination be postponed, education rights group said.

    The NEET PG 2022 is scheduled for May 21 and the memorandum has come from students across the country, including the Delhi-National Capital Region, through various groups and associations, they said.

    The development came even as a medical students’ association moved the Supreme Court on Thursday for postponement of the examination citing its clash with the ongoing counselling for NEET PG 2021.

    “We 15,000 aspirants writing on behalf of majority of NEET PG aspirants suffering due to the ongoing counselling and upcoming NEET PG 2022 exam scheduled on 21 May,2022. We would like to bring it to your notice regarding the issues faced by the aspirants who are unable to appear for the upcoming medical post-graduation entrance exam NEET PG 2022,” the memorandum stated.

    “The counselling process conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) for NEET PG 2021 has been made null and void seven times. As per latest notification from MCC, May 7 is the last date for the admission into PG courses. But, the registration for NEET PG 2022 was closed on March 25, 2022,” it stated.

    The memorandum noted that with the “uncertainty of the counselling process” more than “50,000 aspirants couldn’t even apply for the exam”.

    “The uncertainty related to the counselling process has brought the students in dilemma about proper conduction of counselling and the date when it will be finished,” it added.

    In the memorandum, submitted at the prime minister’s office (PMO), New Delhi, the aspirants also cited confusion due to the suddenness of the notification and stress because of it ahead of the crucial examination as they urged that the examination be postponed for eight to 10 weeks.

    “We request you to give us appointment to a delegation of 5 NEET PG aspirants so that we can put the genuine demands in front of you. As you requested all the final year medicos to serve the nation during COVID-19 crisis, we have done that as desired by you in the larger interest of the nation. Now, we request you to sympathetically consider our demands and serve us justice,” it stated.

    The aspirants were represented through groups like Federation of All India Medical Association, United Doctors Front Association, All India Medical Students’ Association, and NCR Parents’ Association, among others.

    Separately, NCR Parents’ Association president Sukhpal Singh Toor said around 70 people have taken Delhi Police’s permission for a “peaceful protest” at the Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Sunday over the issue.

    “This protest will not cause any obstruction to traffic or the movement of pedestrians. This protest is totally apolitical,” Toor said.

  • Medical students’ association to approach Supreme Court for postponing NEET PG exam

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: A medical students’ association will approach the Supreme Court on May 4 for postponing NEET PG 2022 exam as the counseling process for 2021 is not yet over, even as other medical bodies urged the union health minister to defer the exam till July.

    According to All India Medical Students’ Association national president Dr. Jitendra Singh the association will be filing a petition on May 4 on postponing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-PG) 2022.

    “We request all medical associations to join in this fight for justice for medical students,” he tweeted.

    In a separate letter to the union health ministry, the association said the counseling for NEET PG 2021 is still in progress, but the NEET PG 2022 exam is scheduled for May 3.

    Requesting for a postponement of the exam, the association said that this will help smoothly conduct the counseling and will thus solve the problems faced by the aspirants.

    The NEET PG counseling of 2021 will get over by May 3, which will then be followed by state counseling, which will get over by May end, the aspirants told this newspaper.

    The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) also wrote to the Union Health Minister, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, urging him to postpone the NEET PG 2022 exam from May to July.

    “Justice can be served to these hard-working candidates, who formed the main support system of the country during the Covid-19 crisis and provided their best efforts to ensure the safety of the citizens,” the letter said.

    In an online poll conducted by FAIMA, over 85 percent voted for postponing the exams slated for May 21. One and a half lakh MBBS students take the NEET PG 2022 exam.

    The Resident Doctors’ Association of Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital also requested the health minister to look into the matter urgently. “Kindly put an end to this suffering of NEET PG aspirants,” they tweeted.

    India has about 38,000 post-graduate seats for about 78,000 MBBS graduates. There are 50 percent All India quota seats, and the remaining 50 percent are the state quota seats, which offer 19,000 MD/MS seats.