Losing faith in Indian Medical Education system! Doctors upset Over NEET PG 2024 Postponement

New Delhi: The sudden postponement of the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 examination came as a shock to many doctors who had been preparing to get admitted to postgraduate medical courses for a long time. While the medical fraternity is expressing their disappointment and shock at the last minute postponement, some candidates are demanding reimbursement of travel expenses.

Releasing a Statement on June 22, 2024, the Ministry postponed the exam around 12 hours before its scheduled date i.e. on June 23, 2024. The exam will now be rescheduled and a new date will be announced soon.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the Ministry had informed that the exam was being postponed after considering the incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations.

"Taking into consideration, the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by National Board of Examinations for medical students. It has accordingly been decided, as precautionary measure to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 23rd June, 2024," the Union Health Ministry stated in a release.

However, since the exam was deferred only hours before the actual exam date, several candidates and parents arrived at the exam centres unaware that it had been postponed. They rued allegations of irregularities plaguing exams conducted by the National Testing Agency and asserted that it was adding to their already heightened stress and tension.

Also Read: Breaking News: NEET PG postponed at the last minute, fresh dates to be announced

Candidates Express Shock and Anguish, Demand Reimbursement of Travel Expenses:

Referring to the impact of the sudden postponement of NEET-PG 2024 examination on their mental health, a student Sakshi Shitole told PTI, "The postponement of NEET-PG has left me depressed. I was eager to appear since I was preparing for it for months. The students of our country are feeling insecure and are losing faith in the exam system."

A candidate who went to Jaipur for the exam told ANI, "The NEET-UG exam's paper got leaked, NEET-PG was postponed 12 hours before, and the NEET-SSC exam date has not been announced yet. This shows how much the government is concerned about the health sector. The Union Health Minister and Union Education Minister must apologise for what they have done. Students and doctors have travelled a long way for the exam and come here; they have incurred a lot of expenses. On average, Rs 10,000 was the expenditure. The government must reimburse these expenditures."

Jyoth Chouhan, another candidate, said that the Centre informing them at the last moment about the exam caused great inconvenience. "NTA (National Testing Agency) informed at the last moment, 10 hours before that the exam has been postponed. If they had to reschedule, they should have announced that at least a few days ago. They didn't distribute exam centres properly, candidates got very faraway places at exam centres. Students from Vadodara had exam centres in Nashik and Madhya Pradesh. And then when they reached there, they were informed that the exam had been postponed. All are having great difficulties," he said.

Doctors Look for Other Options: 

Explaining the difficulties faced by them to reach the exam centres in different cities after travelling for hours, a candidate pointed out that "The NEET-PG is the only exam for admission to Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS) and PG Diploma courses. Many doctors take time off from work to prepare for it, while others study during their long hospital shifts."

As per the latest media report by Business Standard, with the NEET-PG postponed, several candidates who were planning to appear in the exam are considering their options to study abroad to pursue PG medical education. In this regard, a candidate told the Daily, "While I had no plans to move abroad for my MS after what happened during the Russia-Ukraine conflict, many doctors may do so."

Some of the doctors who are planning to enrol into the post-MBBS Diplomate of National Board (DNB) courses have also faced the disadvantage. The Information Bulletin released by NBEMS in April mentioned that the merit list of NEET-PG 2024 would be utilised for admission to various post-MBBS DNB, post-MBBS Direct 6-year DrNB courses and other NBEMS diploma courses.

"The NEET-PG exam has already faced multiple date changes. Initially set for March 3, the paper was postponed to July 8 in January this year. Shortly after, the date was again moved to June 23. Now, just a day before the exam, it has been postponed again," the candidate told the Daily. 

Reactions from Medical Fraternity: 

The medical fraternity has expressed their disappointment over the sudden postponement of the NEET-PG 2024 exam. Commenting on the matter, the General Secretary of Doctors' Association for Social Equality, Dr. G.R. Ravindranath told PTI, "We cannot predict whether the NTA will conduct exams in a transparent and fair manner in the future or not. Central government is itself corrupt, so all organisations under it are also corrupt."

Commenting on the matter, the National Chairman of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), Dr. Rohan Krishnan told Medical Dialogues, "The last-minute cancellation of NEET-PG examination is very sad for all of us. The students from various cities had travelled to their examination centred, they had prepared their level best for this examination. This is one of the toughest examination a person goes through in his/her medical career. I feel very sorry that this exam had to be postponed. I hope that National Board of Examinations had concrete reasons to postpone this examination and they should come up with immediate answers. I also expect answers from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare explaining why this exam was postponed and what precautions they should have taken, where the lapses happened, what were the exact reasons for the postponement of the NEET-PG examination."

He advised all the aspirants to keep calm and opined that the candidates should get ample time before the new date of the NEET-PG 2024 exam. 

Moreover, after the Centre postponed the NEET PG examination, United Doctors Front Association National President Dr Lakshya Mittal on Saturday said that cancelling the scheduled exam before 10 hours is no less than ''playing with the emotions of the doctors'' adding that India's medical education system has been ''destroyed''.

"NEET-PG exam, which was supposed to be held tomorrow, has been cancelled at the last moment... Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its press release, has mentioned that the exam has been postponed seeing its integrity and sensitivity... This is another scam after NEET-UG... Candidates have travelled across states and cancelling the exam 10 hours before it is scheduled is no less than playing with the emotions of the doctors," Mittal told ANI.

"The conducting authorities of both- NEET PG, as well as NEET UG, should be investigated... India's medical education system has been destroyed... CBI enquiry into the NEET-UG issue is a commendable step," he added.

What NBE said: 

Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to ANI, Dr Rakesh Sharma, OSD to President and Member, Governing Body, NBEMS said, "All eyes of the nation are on NBEMS for the conduct of NEET PG 2024 and we will not let down the hope of the nation. We will conduct the test through a computer-based test (CBT) mode throughout the country."

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA. The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.