Resident doctors upset over postponement of NEET exams

According to reports, the decision to postpone the NEET-PG examinations by four months have angered the resident doctors in Maharashtra.

It has been reported that not conducting the examinations before August 31 will delay admissions to first-year postgraduate courses by at least six months, changing the academic cycle for many. Moreover, as per experts, final year resident doctors, whose residency terms were to get over on April 30, may have to continue till the fresh batch joins.

According to a report in Times of India, Dr Dnyaneshwar Dhobale-Patil, president, central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) committee, said it was the most illogical decision taken by the Centre. “If NEET-PG is conducted earlier, more manpower will be available. Asking NEET aspirants (who completed MBBS) to work on Covid duty will be counterproductive. No one will leave preparations in between and work on Covid unless compelled to. It is also putting pressure on final year resident doctors who are working on Covid for over a year,” he said.

Meanwhile, earlier on April 15, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan informed that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for postgraduate students, scheduled to be held on April 18, has been postponed for the time being, in view of the rising instances of coronavirus.

The examinations of NEET PG are for doctors seeking admission in MS, MD courses. The examination was earlier scheduled to be held in January but was postponed because of the pandemic and the rises in cases of coronavirus.