NEET SS 2024 may not be conducted this year: NMC

New Delhi: The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to Super Speciality courses - NEET SS may not be held this year, recent minutes of the meeting of the National Medical Commission (NMC) have revealed.

NMC shared the minutes of the meeting dated 23.02.2024 with the social and political activist Dr Vivek Pandey, who had sought the details of the NMC meeting when the decision to prepone NEET PG 2024 was taken.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Dr. Vijay Oza, President of PGMEB on 21.02.2024 at 4:00 PM through virtual mode to discuss the examination and counselling schedule for NEET PG 2024 and the pattern of examination for NEET SS.

Regarding the NEET SS 2024 exam, the minutes of the meeting stated, "Regarding NEET SS-2024, it was decided that as admissions for academic year 2021 for MD/MS and DNB courses were held only a January to May 2022, therefore, NEET SS-2024 may not be conducted in the current year. However exact date of counselling NEET SS- 2024 in the year 2025 will be decided later."

The document also addressed the pattern of the NEET SS examination and mentioned, "Dr. Vijay Oza informed that a number of representations have been received for change in the examinations pattern for DM Critical Care Medicine. It has been requested that question in the exam should be on critical care medicine instead of General Medicine. Professor M. Bajpai informed that after the change in the examination pattern of NEETPG SS, a number of seats in Critical Care Medicine remains vacant as candidates with MS(Anesthesiology) are not able to score required mark to be eligible for seat in D.M (Critical care medicine) and also they feel that they are at disadvantage due to change in exam pattern."

"Similar issue may come from Radiation oncology students while appearing for medical oncology examination. Therefore there is need to examine the issue and create a separate group (question paper) for the super speciality courses of D.M in (Critical Care Medicine) and D.M (Medical Oncology) by keeping questions of particular super speciality course only in line with AIIMS (New Delhi). On the issue of creating separate group for these super speciality courses, NBE raised the issue of logistic and time frame of conducting the examination within a limited timeframe of two days. On this matter it was deliberated that each student may be given at least two options i.e. one in his main group and another of his choice. PGMEB will deliberate on this issue in the Board and will come out with the possible solution. Meanwhile NBEMS will give details of examination results of these two super speciality results of past years and MCC can give idea of number of students from different broad speciality admitting into the super speciality courses and their performance," it further mentioned.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that doctors were concerned over the lack of mention of the NEET SS 2024 in the exam calendar recently released by the National Board of Examinations (NBE).

In its exam calendar, NBEMS announced the tentative dates of its forthcoming examinations including NEET PG 2024, FMGE June 2024 along with GPAT, PDCET, DPEE, FNB exit, DNB, and DrNB practical and theory exams. However, NBE did not announce any dates for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for the super speciality admissions- NEET SS 2024.

Expressing concern over this, the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Maharashtra, and the Maharashtra Chapter of the IMA Junior Doctors' Network recently wrote to the NBE and demanded clarification and sought to know the expected date of conducting NEET SS 2024.

Also Read: When will NEET SS 2024 be Conducted? Doctors demand clarity over exam date