NEET-PG 2022 counselling deferred, more seats to be added

LoPs are letters of permission issued by the apex medical education regulator NMC to colleges for adding new PG seats. The notice added: “The tentative schedule of NEET-PG Counselling, 2022, is being rescheduled.”

The PG students have been waiting since June 1, with them not being able to take up jobs because of the uncertainty of counselling dates. On the other hand, medical college hospitals are short-staffed because the PG students work in the hospitals as junior residents as part of training.

Ironically, the delay comes even as demands by a section of the students to delay the examination were not accepted, with health ministry officials stating that this was an attempt to ensure that the schedule for the tests and counselling that was disturbed due to the pandemic may be normalised.

The NEET-PG examinations usually take place in January, with results coming in, counselling process completed, and students joining centres by May. The examination for 2021 was postponed several times due to the pandemic and finally took place in September. The counselling process was further delayed because a series of litigations related to the newly announced quota for the economically weaker sections (EWS). This was the reason MBBS students were seeking a delay in the next round of tests as many appear for it multiple times.

Meanwhile, resident doctors from medical college hospitals had taken to streets in December protesting the repeated delays in counselling leading to these hospitals running with only two-thirds the number of approved residents.

“The situation is the same again. Almost 75% of the third year batch has already left the medical colleges; rest of the 25%who were retained on an extended tenure but that also ends early September. Hospitals are again running with two-third residents. We will be meeting the minister also regarding the issue. But, if the fresh dates are not announced by mid-September and for some time soon, we will again be compelled to protest,” said Dr Manish Kumar, president, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA) that led the December protests.

Dr Rohan Krishnan, president of Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), asked what was the reason for adding the new seats at the last minute.

“The results came in months ago, what is the reason for increasing the seats at the last moment. The students are already struggling; they cannot join a job. They should have been learning and giving service, instead they are sitting at home. The patients are also suffering; the dates for routine procedures being given is two months later in many hospitals because of this lack of manpower,” said Dr Krishnan.