The Central Government told the Supreme Court of India that the grievances of the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test – Master of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS) are being heard by it today, February 21.
This response was given to a bench comprised of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra, which was hearing a plea to postpone the NEET MDS 2024 exam and extend the cut-off dates for the completion of their internships.
Considering the response, the bench did not pass an order on the plea and directed the petitioners to submit their representations to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. It also allowed the government to “take a call” on the matter within a week of receiving the petitions, LiveLaw reports.
NEET MDS 2024 is scheduled to be held on March 18, pushed ahead from its initial date of February 9. Candidates who have completed their internships on or before March 31 are ineligible to appear for the exam this year.
The petition, which was filed under Article 32 of the Constitution (Right to Constitutional Remedy), illustrates that the commencement of the internship was delayed due to COVID-19 for several students, and the completion date was not uniform for all medical colleges in India.
This was also pointed out by Senior Advocate Colin Gonzalves, the counsel of the petitioners, at an earlier hearing of the petition on February 16.
Due to this, candidates of NEET MDS 2024 demanded that the exam be postponed to July so that the counselling aligns with that of NEET PG and the combined counselling could take place without hassle, a report by EdexLive states.
Further, the petitioners also argue that making them appear for an exam just six months into their internship would prevent them from gaining the proper practical knowledge needed to perform well in the exam, putting them at a disadvantage.
Advocate Gaurav Sharma, who appeared for the government also informed the bench that the government sought information from the National Dental Commission about the number of students being affected by the deadlines.