Why NEET PG aspirants are protesting at Jantar Mantar in Delhi

Applicants have requested that the exam be postponed by two to three months to close the gap between the result announcement and the counselling procedure. They also seek more time to prepare as the last counselling ended in December due to which they could not study or revise enough for the exam, which will be held on March 5.

Why are they demanding the postponement?

The National Board of Examination (NBE) that conducts tests for admission to postgraduate medical courses has extended the cut-off for completion of the one-year mandatory internship to August 11. The move will make thousands of more aspirants eligible for the exam which is a mandatory thing.

This is the second time that the cut-off date has been extended. On January 13, the NBE extended the MBBS internship cut-off date to June 30 which earlier was on March 31.

However, the doctors’ associations and aspirants have said that the exam date still needs to be postponed.

“At present, there is a large gap between the counselling and the examination date, this time could be utilised by the students to study for the examination and pursue their dream subject. In this period doctors will not get any jobs either,” said Dr Rohan Krishnan, National Chairman, Federation of All India Medical Association.

“We also want to convey that this is the year where we are adjusting with the delays of Covid Pandemic, in which the health care sector played a major role,” he added.

What are the implications of NEXT exam

Many doctors also say they are under pressure to clear the exam this time itself as it will be their last chance considering the change in pattern with the arrival of NEXT exam from next year for post-graduates.

NEET-PG is likely to be discontinued next year onwards with the government implementing the two-part exit test for all MBBS students, which will be a basis for their registration as doctors and admissions for further PG courses.

Through NEXT, the Centre aims to bring uniformity in the summative evaluation across the country with reference to the minimum common standards of education and training of a medical graduate.

The National Board of Examination has previously extended the March 31 internship deadline to June 30 after receiving several requests from NEET PG aspirants. The NEET PG schedule has been severely affected over the last two years, leading to a shortage of PG students in medical college hospitals who work as junior resident doctors as part of their training.

This is not the first time that doctors have taken issue with NEET-related matters. In December 2021-January 2022, doctors protested against delays in the NEET PG counselling. During the protest, patient care was affected at three Centre-run facilities — Safdarjung, RML and Lady Hardinge hospitals — and some Delhi Government-run hospitals as well.

Resident doctors from FORDA and FAIMA joined the protest and asked the government to expedite the counselling that was in abeyance for several months because of a series of court cases about the new quota for the economically weaker sections.