The Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote to Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday seeking to reschedule of NEET-PG medical entrance test, which was originally slated for May 21. IMA claimed that the time between the NEET-PG 2022 exam date and the conclusion of 2021 counseling is too short for a candidate to study and participate in such an “extremely difficult exam”, citing the delay in All India Quota (AIQ) counseling for NEET-PG 2021.
Owing to Covid-19, the NEET-PG 2021 was held five months later than planned and the counselling which was supposed to begin on October 25, 2021, began in January due to a delayed decision on seat reservations. It was further delayed by the Supreme Court’s judgement on March 31, 2022, which ordered the cancellation of the Mop-up round and the holding of a special round of counselling.
“Another innocent five to ten thousand interns, who served as COVID warriors during COVID-19 pandemic, are ineligible to appear for NEET-PG due to delay in completion of their final examination and consequently their internship beyond eligibility criteria set for the examination”, the IMA wrote.
The IMA emphasised the necessity to postpone NEET 2022 tests, citing scenarios and Supreme Court decisions on the scheduling for postgraduate degrees, as it “concerns career pathways of lakhs of medical graduates”.
“Since the NEET PG 2022 examination date is May 21, 2022, we request your prompt intervention and urgent consideration of postponing the NEET PG 2022 examination for a reasonable period of time, so that current NEET PG 2021 aspirants have adequate time to prepare and appear for the upcoming NEET-PG 2022 examination, and the eligibility of all interns is also ensured”, the IMA said.
“We are sure that the issue shall be dealt with urgency by granting the prayer as made herein above in larger academic and societal interest as a whole”, the letter concluded.
