NEET PG 2024, Counselling Delay: Are We Moving Towards Regularisation of PG Batches?

New Delhi: With the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 Examination's date being finally announced after so much delay, the restless doctors who have been on their seats since the sudden postponement of the exam on 22nd June finally got a respite.

However, the lack of clarity on the counselling date for both the undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical courses is a matter of concern to many who are wondering when their admissions will happen and when their courses will start.

The delay in admission to NEET PG 2024, while annoying the students, seems to be coming in favour as a solution to a potential problem that medical institutions across the country are about to face, which involves the allocation of extra resources to an additional batch in case the incoming batch takes admission before the end of this year. 

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

COVID-19 Pandemic & its Havoc on the Academic Calendar: 

To understand the problem, one needs to understand the academic calendar of the PG medical students. The erstwhile Medical Council of India (MCI), now the National Medical Commission (NMC) specified in the Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2000 that "There shall be no admission of students in respect of any academic session beyond 31st May for postgraduate courses and 30th September for super speciality courses under any circumstances. They Universities shall not register any student admitted beyond the said date."

Also Read: NMC ratifies NEET UG, NEET PG Counselling Schedules, details

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the academic calendar was delayed and it especially affected the postgraduate medical students. Amid the pandemic, the schedule of NEET-PG 2021 got delayed which ultimately delayed the joining of the new batch. 

Finally, NEET PG in 2021 was held on 11th September 2021 and the counselling for the same commenced on 12th January 2022. Following this, the academic session for the Broad Speciality Courses for the year 2021 commenced one year later i.e. on 1st February 2022.

These students who started on 1st February onwards have to complete their 36-month courses to get their degrees. Taking note of the required tenure of 36 months for the PG medical degrees, it is expected that currently who are in 3rd year will be passing out only after 1st February 2025.

Similarly, there was a delay in the commencement of the PG medical courses for the following batches as well. The 2022 batch of PG medical students commenced their academic session on 20.10.2022, and the 2023 batch of PG medical students started their academic session started on 10.10.2023.

With the havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic on the calendar, while the 2021 batch doctors should have graduated, they are still in their 3rd year and they will only graduate after 1st February 2025.

This brings us to a unique situation this year when if NEET-PG 2024 candidates take admission before February 2025, there will be four batches of PG medical courses running at the same time.

Are Medical Institutions Prepared for an Additional Fourth Batch? 

Given that third years are only going to pass out on 1st February 2025 onwards, an early entry of the next batch will lead to the addition of a fourth batch in the PG medical setup, which will have to be taken care of in terms of resources. These students will have to be paid a stipend, given accommodation and the medical institutions will have to arrange for their PG medical training as well.

Explaining the challenges of accommodating a fourth batch in the PG medical setup, Dr. Pawanindra Lal, Former Executive Director of the National Board of Examinations (NBE) told Medical Dialogues, "It has never happened in the past that we have ever had a fourth batch attending the course in addition to the existing batches that are there. Normally the third year batch exits and makes way for the first year batch. It is evident from the National Medical Commission's earlier notice issued in March that the last date for joining of the PG medical students is 21st October 2024. So, if that happens, the Institutes concerned need to understand that they will be getting another batch coming to them."

Dr. Lal, who is currently the Director Professor and Head of Surgery at MAMC New Delhi, explained the challenges that the Government and private medical institutes might face in including the fourth batch in the system and said, "Usually the salary of the new batch comes from the exiting batch. So, when an additional batch is going to arrive, the Government needs to allocate extra funds for them because the third-year batch admitted in 2021 will graduate only in February 2025. This will amount to crores of rupees per month salary. So, either these new students will not get any salary for the overlapping months when the 2021 batch does not leave the college, or the Government will have to allocate extra money to the government institutions and tell the private institutions to arrange for additional money."

"Apart from stipend, there is also a problem related to the infrastructure such as classrooms, teachers as well as accommodation. Generally, the first years get the rooms after the senior batch vacates their rooms. Not every institute can arrange for rental accommodations easily. So, if the senior batch does not vacate the rooms, where will these new students stay? There are more issues related to curriculum, arranging clinical training for the new students etc.," he said.

Dr. Satendra Singh, the Director Professor of Physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) agreed that the colleges may face challenges in accommodating the new students. He said, "There is already a shortage in terms of accommodation, especially in the colleges in Delhi. Surely, the colleges may face challenges in accommodating these students in the hostels and also arranging departmental space for the new PG medical students."

Opining that workspace is an even more important factor than accommodations, Dr. Singh added, "However, there is no option for the colleges but to comply with the timeline set by the authorities."

While the Government may allocate the sources, it is not clear how the private medical colleges, many of which are notorious for not paying stipends even to the current batches are going to make provisions for a fourth batch, if these students join early.

Catch-22 Situation: 

NMC on its part, in its directive dated 13.06.2024, directed the medical colleges to ensure that everything for the current batch is on time and the academic curriculum including the conduct of the exam of the PG Broad Speciality students admitted in 2021 by 31st December 2024. However, NMC still can't expedite the passing out of the 3rd year batch further as they are required to complete their 36-month of training. 

Referring to its earlier notice dated 11.01.2022, NMC in its recent notice reiterated, "The academic curriculum of the diploma and degree courses shall be completed by 31st December, 2023 and 31st December, 2024 respectively. However, the post-graduate Degree and Diploma students should complete the required period of 36 and 24 months respectively."

This brings us to a Catch-22 situation, where if NEET-PG 2024 counselling and its related academic admissions are done before the end of the year, we will end up in a situation where the medical colleges and institutes will be forced to run four simultaneous PG batches.

Given the current situation, it is imperative that colleges strictly follow the NMC guidelines and make sure that the exams of the outgoing batch are conducted on time i.e. before 31st December 2024 to ensure that the overlap is minimised to the largest extent. This will help ensure that NEET-SS, which was not conducted this year, is conducted on time for the outgoing batch of PG medical courses next year. Details of counselling and the dates of the new academic year are still awaited from the NBE.

Also Read: Breaking News: NEET PG 2024 to be held on August 11