Cleared test,format now void: worries for 30,000 doctors

The board has decided to eliminate this problem by giving 100 per cent weightage to marks obtained in the CET,he said.

The exam is conducted twice a year,in December and June,with an average 15-20,000 students. Chand estimates that of the total 60,000 candidates in the last two years,at least half “might have problems” with the change in marking.

The move was welcomed by many academics,but stunned students who had cleared the exam in 2008 and started house jobs,commonly known as junior residencies. “To gain brownie points on the aptitude tests,students would join hospitals in these temporary posts if they did not score well in CET,”said Chand. The ploy worked,as the test results are valid for two years after the results are declared.

Immediately after the board had announced its decision,it was challenged by four students enrolled for house jobs at the Ear Nose Throat (ENT) department of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre(BARC) Hospital in Mumbai. On August 6,the High Court ruled in the board’s favour,declaring the old system null and void.

“Since the old system did not depend completely on CET,many students would focus on house jobs. Now,we have effectively wasted a year,since we will not end up getting any seats,” said a resident at a leading private hospital in Delhi.

Students feel the new format should have been made effective for the fresh batch. “Reforming the system is a good idea,but how can they force it on those who were preparing on the old format? It’s a rash decision,” says a junior resident with Jaslok Hospital,Mumbai.

Many doctors echo the sentiment. A professor of forensic medicine at a nodal state-run hospital in Mumbai said,“In state-run colleges,there was some mechanism to oversee the running of the DNB course. In private hospitals,there is no attached medical college or research facilities. Students were battling these problems till now. Though this new move will cleanse the system,it is unfair on students who have to sit for the exam yet again because of the confusion.”

Chand says the system has to be flushed. “We cannot stall the process because some did not bother to prepare properly for CET.”

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Format of test 30,000 doctors cleared is now void

Most private colleges had been processing their DNB admissions when the petition was filed. “We had conducted interviews,but did not start the course as the matter was sub judice. But our selections had already been made. Now with this verdict,we will have to take fresh candidates according to the CET merit list,” said Jaslok medical director Admiral SK Mohanty.

The board decision followed the Medical Council of India’s decision to increase seats for postgraduate degree courses like MD and MS,which effectively eradicated DNB courses in government medical colleges. Professor VK Jain,coordinator,academics,at University College of Medical Sciences,Delhi,said,“After the MCI decision,we do not have any DNB postings except in neurosurgery,since it offers no MD and MS degrees.” In Maharshtra and West Bengal,medical colleges in state and civic Hospitals have stopped providing DNB courses since the MCI verdict.

“Seats for DNB were reduced by half after this decision,and students had to toil harder to clear CET and get a seat. Now our efforts have been wasted. We have to start all over again,” said a resident doctor with Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,Delhi.