‘Mental trauma, financial burden’: How students sob as NEET PG 2024 cancelled a night before exam

“Taking into consideration, the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG examination, conducted by National Board of Examination for medical students. It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 23rd June, 2024. Fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest,” the Ministry said in an official notice.

The decision is being heavily criticised by NEET PG candidates, many of whom had to travel to other cities to appear for the exam. “I travelled from Delhi to Meerut to sit for this exam and was revising chapters at the hotel. There is no reason to cancel this exam, and it should have been conducted on time. Some of the aspirants had to resume their medical jobs, or join a new one, or even go for a vacation with their family. The NBE failed us,” said Dr Pesheen Ahamd, a NEET PG 2024 candidate.

There are also a few candidates who had to put aside their family emergencies to appear for the exam, and now feel abandoned by the NBE. “I work in UPPMS and my father was admitted for surgery. I had left for Lucknow to appear in the exams. All of us UPPSC officers are overworked and didn’t get time to prepare for exam, but I still managed to get some time to sit for this test. Unfortunately, such things cost us a lot of resources and human hours. We are government officers on 24×7 duties, so managing all this is very difficult,” a NEET PG candidate said on the condition of anonymity.

“Postponing NEET PG at the last moment was a big shock to us. I am currently working as a resident at Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College, and my exam centre was in Meerut. Like me, many people had already travelled to their exam cities. Now there is complete uncertainty on when this exam will be conducted again.” said Dr Shubham Anand.

Another candidate Dr Akash Soni who is working in Singrauli had to travel to Bihar for the NEET PG examination. Speaking with Indian Express, he said, “A notice comes 12 hours before the start of the paper which not only postpones NEET PG but it also plays with the mental health of students who are going to be a part of this, if the government does not know how to conduct the exam then it would be better if they resign from their respective post.”

Anand also highlighted that some students had not joined jobs and were waiting for this exam to be over. “I also know some NRIs who had flown in just to appear for the exam, and now the uncertainty looms over all of us. Also, this is after they had changed the exam dates multiple times already. The lack of accountability from the authorities is appalling.” said Dr Anand.

Residing in Delhi and travelled to Meerut for the NEET PG examination, Amisha said, “I take it positively that I will get more time to appear for the examination and can perform better. Narrating a story about her friend, she said that she travelled from Gujarat to Bihar only to find out that the medical examination had been postponed.”

Another candidate from Rajasthan who wished anonymity said that his centre was near to his house so travelling was not an issue. “It was shocking but why cry over spilled milk? The preparation will remain the same even if NEET PG is conducted after a few months. I know a few of my friends who travelled far off places but what I feel is that if the paper is leaked then postponement is a good idea because it will be unfair to candidates like me who are genuine and have worked hard for the last couple of months to clear the exam.”

Not just students, but faculty and the medical fraternity are shocked by the news too. Calling it a ‘ harassment of all the doctors’, Dr Suvrankar Datta, Vice President RDA AIIMS questioned the government’s decision of postponing the exam a night before the exam. “How can the government be so incompetent in managing an exam that was planned months in advance? This is beyond frustrating and unacceptable. The ministry owes us a detailed explanation and immediate rescheduling,” he told The Indian Express.

The Federation Of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) has questioned repeated changes in the exam schedule. NEET PG 2024 was first announced for March 3, and was then postponed to July 7 in January 2024. However, in March, NBE announced that the exam would be preponed to June 23, which has once again been postponed.

#WATCH | On the postponement of the NEET-PG exam, Dr Rohan Krishnan (Chairman, FAIMA Doctors Association) says, “The last-minute cancellation of the NEET-PG examination is very sad for all of us… All the candidates had reached their examination centres in various cities… I… pic.twitter.com/TV0QDpjWEb

— ANI (@ANI) June 22, 2024

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“The government is incapable of conducting an exam planned so many months ago. Many students wanted to join a job after the exam to survive through this phase, but now they are stuck. It is very sad to hear this. We suspect some irregularities may have happened,” said Dr Manish Jangra, founder of FAIMA.