NEET PG State counseling Delayed, Telangana PG Aspirants Cry Foul

Hyderabad: More than 8,000 medical aspirants in Telangana are facing uncertainty regarding their future with the delay in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) counselling process.

Although the two rounds of All India Quota (AIQ) counselling has already been completed, the merit list for the State-level counseling, conducted by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), is yet to release its merit list.

Normally, AIQ and State counselling processes run together and due to this, the students get a chance to make well-informed choices. However, since the State counselling has been delayed, the synchronisation has been disrupted. Therefore, the PG medical aspirants are unaware of their rankings even though they registered for the State counselling weeks ago.

Also Read: Plea in HC Challenges Reservation Policy for Admission of Local Candidates to PG Medical Courses, Notice issued to State, KNRUHS

Commenting on the matter, a representative of Telangana Local PG Students Association, Dr. Siva Rama Krishna told The Hindu, "This delay has left many students in a difficult situation. Some are holding AIQ Round two seats but face uncertainty about their eligibility for counselling. The resignation deadline for AIQ Round two is December 26, and students are unsure whether to retain their AIQ seats or resign to participate in state counselling."

Highlighting the issue of delay, the association has raised serious concerns about its impact. Speaking to the Daily, another representative Dr. Vamshi said, "Without even conducting a single round of state counselling, the government is jeopardising students’ future. Moreover, the AIQ counselling fees of ₹25,000 paid by the students are at risk of being wasted due to this mismanagement. Many students are also facing immense mental stress due to the uncertainty about where to join. The Telangana government and KNRUHS must release the state merit list immediately and ensure the counselling process moves forward without further delays."

The association referred to the issue and appealed before the National Medical Commision (NMC) to extend the resignation deadline for the AIQ Round two and also delay the commencement of AIQ Round three. As per the association, if NMC agrees to these demands, Telangana would get sufficient time to complete its State merit list and conduct the first round of counselling.

Also Read: Relief to Telangana PG medical candidates: HC junks GO restricting local candidate status