With No NEET SS Centre in Srinagar, Candidates Travel for Days to Appear in Exam
NEET SS Exam Centre
Srinagar: Having no exam center in Srinagar, hundreds of senior resident doctors from Kashmir had to face days of travel and hardships to appear in the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Super Speciality (SS) examination 2024, which was held on March 29 and 30.
Highlighting the issues they had to face to only appear in the exam, the doctors have opined that if the Government had made efforts to set up an examination centre in Srinagar, it would have saved them several days and prevented significant financial burdens.
Doctors had earlier informed Medical Dialogues that the situation has been continuing since 2022.
Doctors were upset with the absence of an exam centre in Srinagar this year as well as around a thousand doctors, who wanted to pursue super-speciality courses, were left with no choice but to travel to Jammu to appear in the examination.
Previously, raising the issue, the Jammu and Kashmir Chapter of the United Doctors' Front (UDF) had written to the Health Secretary and they had decided to write to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda and NBE as well.
However, despite all such efforts, no changes were made and the doctors from Kashmir could not appear in the entrance exam in Srinagar. They had to face days of travel, hardships and mental exhaustion to appear in the test. Since the only centre in J&K was in Jammu, it quickly reached its capacity and doctors had to travel to Delhi and other distant locations to appear in the exam.
Also Read: Why No NEET SS exam Centre in Kashmir for More than 1000 Doctors? Aspirants Ask Govt, NBE
Commenting on the issue, a senior resident at SKIMS, Soura, Dr. Riyaz Ahmad told Daily Excelsior, "It’s not just about time and money. The extensive travel we had to undertake also affected our performance. If the examination centre had been in Srinagar, it would have been an altogether different experience."
The Daily has reported that the hardships of the doctors increased further as on the day that the candidates were scheduled to depart, many flights from Srinagar airport were either cancelled or delayed, due to a bad weather.
Referring to this, another candidate, Dr. Shariq told the Daily, "Our flight was delayed, and we finally departed in the late evening. We reached Delhi at 11 pm, and the next morning, we appeared for the exam-tired and facing numerous difficulties."
Amid this situation, many candidates found no alternative but to book cabs to reach their destination, resulting in a costlier and more exhausting journey. "When flights were cancelled due to gusty winds, we had no choice but to travel by road. There was no certainty about when flights would resume, and we couldn’t take any chances," said another senior resident doctor from GMC Srinagar.
"The road journey added to the expenses and fatigue. By the time we reached, we were exhausted, but had no choice except to mentally prepare for the exam the next morning," the doctor added.
Also Read: NBE faces backlash over scheduling blunder, NEET SS papers clash
