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.”