Doctors write to Health Minister over possible seat blocking due to inconsistencies in NEET PG Counselling Schedules

New Delhi: Expressing concern over the inconsistencies and asynchronization between the All India Quota and State Quota counselling rounds of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) Examination, the doctors under the umbrella of Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) have recently written to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

Calling the counselling process a gamble, FORDA in its letter has pointed out that while the All India Counselling is continuing, several states including Karnataka have not yet begun their State Counselling. Referring to this, the association raised the red flags of seat blocking.

"Many states are yet to begin their state rounds, which will only make the All India mop up rounds a dicey proposition for many meritorious students and put them at a serious disadvantage when it comes to their career choice," read the letter.

This year, the counselling process for NEET-PG 2022 was not a smooth one. The schedule for the counselling got changed and in fact the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) had withdrawn the Provisional Result for Round-1 of NEET-PG Counselling.

Referring to this, FORDA mentioned in its letter, "NEET PG 2022 was held with an intent to streamline the already upset timeline of the medical education system because of a deadly pandemic. While the intent was good, the execution since then has been bristling with multitude of problems including the 4-month long delay between the exam and initiation of counselling, the withdrawal of 1st counselling result, and now the widespread discordance between the state counselling rounds with respect to All India counselling round 1 and 2."

Clarifying that the state rounds of counselling should intersperse the All India rounds to provide the aspirants with ample opportunities at choice, the association also mentioned, "As is common knowledge and an accepted practice of the MCC- the state rounds of counselling are supposed to be interspersed between the All India rounds in a manner which provide the candidates with ample and equal opportunities at choice selection in a timely manner, according to their merit. However, what is happening is more of a gamble- there are some states (e.g. Karnataka) which have not yet begun their state counselling- leading to a distasteful and dissonant manner of seat filling, and probably is encouraging seat blocking- which the MCC is staunchly against."

The association pointed out that several states have not commenced their State counselling which might ultimately result in seat-blocking. FORDA wrote, "As has already been highlighted to your respected office before, such delays and administrative misadventures put the careers of many young aspirant doctors at a serious hazard, for no fault of theirs. And this is not a onetime event, which has unfortunately occurred in the past too."