Why No NEET SS exam Centre in Kashmir for More than 1000 Doctors? Aspirants Ask Govt, NBE

Srinagar: Doctors are upset with the matter that the National Board of Examinations (NBE) has not allotted any National Eligibility Entrance Test for Super Speciality Courses (NEET-SS) centre in Srinagar this year as well.

Due to this, more than thousand doctors, who are willing to pursue super-specialty courses, will have to travel to Jammu next month to appear in the examination. 

According to the doctors, this is not the first time that Kashmir has been denied a NEET-SS centre. They claimed that this situation has been continuing since 2022.

The Jammu and Kashmir chapter of the United Doctors' Front (UDF) has been raising the issue for a long time. The association has already written to the Health Secretary and waiting for the response. If they get no positive response, they are planning to write to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda and NBE as well, informed Dr. Mir Waseem, the National Joint Secretary of UDF.

Also Read: Is NEET SS a joke? Doctors condemn exam delay, loss of academic year

"Since 2022, there has been no NEET SS exam centre has been allotted in the Kashmir region and many people have to travel to Jammu and other cities since centres are not available over here. In the meantime, many postgraduate doctors have to apply for leaves and the patients have to suffer as well," he told Medical Dialogues.

"The doctors also have to face monetary issues to travel outside. More than thousand people from Kashmir region only have applied for the NEET SS exam. We have already written to the Secretary of Health...We have been writing to the authorities since the dates were released. Unfortunately, when the students were filling the forms, they had no option to choose any center in Srinagar," Dr. Waseem added.

Reacting to the situation, a doctor wrote on X (formerly Twitter), "The NEET SS information bulletin is out, and yet again, Kashmir has been denied an exam center. Aspirants now face the burden of traveling far, that too on the sacred day of Eid—when families come together, but we will be away, chasing our dreams."

"Airfare and accommodation costs are substantial, and we have to take leave from our duties, disrupting patient care. Given the advancements in infrastructure, establishing a NEET SS exam center in Kashmir is both feasible and necessary...Every year, aspiring super-specialty doctors from Kashmir appear for the NEET SS exam, a crucial step in our medical journey. However, the absence of an exam center in Kashmir forces us to travel outside the valley, adding unnecessary financial and logistical burdens," the doctor further added.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues in this regard, the National Secretary of UDF, Dr. Arun Kumar said, "Is Jammu and Kashmir not part of India? Are the authorities unaware that there also are doctors? It is very tough for the doctors to travel to other places to appear in the examination." 

Also Read: NBE faces backlash over scheduling blunder, NEET SS papers clash