Postpone NEET PG 2022: Students File Fresh Plea in SC, Say Internship Formality Not Completed

Postpone NEET PG 2022: A group of six students on Tuesday filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) scheduled on March 12 for admissions in post graduate medical courses. In the pela, the students claimed that many MBBS graduates would not be able to appear for the examination due to non-completion of mandatory internship period.Also Read – NEET UG Counselling 2021: MCC Withdraws Provisional Allotment Result, Likely to Announce Final Results Today on mcc.nic.in

It must be noted that the government has scheduled March 12, 2022 for the NEET PG 2022 exam, whereas the scheduled date for the third round of NEET 2021 counselling will be March 16. Also Read – Promise of Irrational Freebies Before Polls A ‘Serious Issue’: Supreme Court Issues Notice to Centre, Election Commission

The plea filed by six MBBS graduates, through Dubey Law Chambers, seeks a direction to the National Board of Examination to defer the scheduled test until various requirements, such as completion of mandatory internship period, set forth in the PG Regulations, are met by many aspirants. Also Read – CSIR UGC NET June 2021: Exam City Slip Out on csirnet.nta.nic.in | Direct Link to Download And Other Details Here

As per the NEET PG regulations, over 30 beds of a hospital have to be assigned to one unit of students pursuing the PG course and now two students of two academic sessions will have to be accommodated in the same facility.

The plea in the apex court also raised a challenge to the violation of NEET PG Regulations, 2000, while admitting candidates for academic sessions in one session as there is an “explicit cap on the number of PG admissions to be done per year per unit”, a lawyer of the firm said.

Several hundred MBBS graduates, whose internship was interrupted due to their duty in tackling COVID-19 pandemic, would be rendered ineligible from appearing in the NEET-PG test due to lack of mandatory internship duty that too without their fault, the plea said while seeking deferment of the test.

The plea also referred to the statement made by PM Modi on May 3, last year to postpone NEET-PG 2021 by at least four months and the fact that the services of final year MBBS doctors will be utilised to handle mild Covid cases.

Furthermore, the petition challenged the condition provided in the information bulletin which provides for a deadline of May 31, 2022 for completion of internship.

“The petitioners (with 1500 candidates) have mentioned that they were in Covid duties in the year 2021 and therefore their internship was postponed. They have submitted that they are victims of circumstances and that they were not informed at any time that serving in Covid duties would tantamount to a situation where they will not be eligible to appear for the NEET-PG,” the lawyer said.

In the meantime, Tamil Nadu MP from Madurai constituency S Venkatesan has written to union health minister Mansukh Mandviya demanding postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test postgraduate (NEET PG 2022) exam by a month due to a clash with the NEET PG Counselling 2021.

In the letter, MP Venkatesan said, “Postpone the NEET PG medical examinations. The examinations for NEET PG 2022 has been announced even before the counselling of 2021 NEET PG is complete. Does NEET always spell confusion, trouble and injustice for the students?”

Here’s what students say: 

Postpone NEET PG exams#JusticeForStudents pic.twitter.com/cV2J4LK2lE

— Ramesh Kumar (@DrJRameshKumar) January 25, 2022

Exactly !!! #postponeneetpg2022 #postponeneetpg #NEETPG2022 https://t.co/xA8Mig1Usx

— Dr.shailesh kumar (@docshailu13) January 26, 2022

The plea has sought an extension of the deadline of completion of internship from May 31.

Recently, the apex court, on January 7, had paved the way for starting the stalled NEET-PG 2021 counselling process based on the existing 27 per cent OBC and 10 per cent EWS reservations in the All India Quota seats, saying there is an “urgent need” to begin the admission process.

It must be noted that due to the COVID pandemic, NEET PG 2021 was postponed twice last year. Normally the test is held by December 31 and the cut-off date for eligibility is March 31 of the same year.