The Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) has declined the request of PG medical students to postpone the final MD/MS postgraduate examination. The students have been appealing for a delay of 15-30 days in the commencement of exams scheduled to begin on June 1. They argue that the pandemic-affected batch of 2020 joined in August 2020, resulting in a reduction of study time by 1-2 months.

On the other hand, on Saturday, May 6, the university released the schedule for the conduct of practical and viva voce examinations for PG degree/ diploma courses which are scheduled to start on June 16.

“We have been meeting the registrar constantly for the last month to put forward our concerns. Now, the registrar has refused to postpone the exams saying that the university has already released the schedule for practical examination so nothing can be changed,” said Dr D Srinath, a student at Kakatiya Medical College and Vice President of Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA).

Why are students seeking postponement?
Students say that the 3rd-year postgraduate students who will be appearing for the examination in June joined the curriculum in August 2020, which means that about 1-2 months of student period would be remaining for the students if the exam is held as per the schedule.

“These are the students from the 2020 batch and they were severely affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They also had to work for 2 years due to the pandemic which affected their academic performance,” said Dr Kaushik Kumar Pinjarala, President of T-JUDA.

T-JUDA had also written to the Vice Chancellor of KNRUHS seeking the postponement of theory exams. However, they have not received any response yet.

“The NEET SS (Super Specialty) would be conducted in the month of September, therefore, postponing the exams for a period of 15-30 days would not affect the eligibility,” the letter read.