The schedule for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Super Specialty (NEET-SS) exam was released a couple of days ago and its application process has begun. On the other hand, the plea challenging the exam's pattern was heard in the Supreme Court today, on July 18.
The plea was heard by a Bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha. It was filed by MD Radiation Oncologists and MD Anaesthesiologists NEET SS 2022 aspirants in May over the changed exam pattern, which would now consist of 150 questions from the general/basic component of the primary feeder broad specialty subject and from all sub-specialty/systems/component.
The aspirants are also disturbed by the draft Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021 published by the NMC, which proposes to delete MD Radiation Oncology/Radiotherapy as an eligible feeder specialty qualification for the super specialty course of DM Medical Oncology.
During the hearing, senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat stated that the court has already granted time to the National Medical Commission (NMC) on May 27 to file a counter to the issue. He thus urged the Bench to consider it next week. He also claimed that the students were "flustered" over the change in pattern.
The petition states, "There will be no questions from broad specialties of the other four postgraduate branches. The pattern is not just a waste of time and effort for all those who have prepared for Critical Care but also grossly biased against few broad specialties, particularly in favour of MD Medicine in so far as the choice of options is far greater vis-a-vis the choices available to either MD Radiation Oncology or MD Anaesthesia. The new examination scheme is making some candidates write a paper which has no questions from their postgraduate broad specialty and they will have to compete with candidates who have 100% questions from their postgraduate syllabus/broad specialty."
The counsel appearing for the NMC countered that a similar petition had been filed in 2021 challenging the new NEET SS exam pattern. He also said that it was a policy decision and that three departments were involved. Therefore, he requested to file an affidavit within two weeks. Justice Chandrachud said, "We'll keep it exactly two weeks from today," as tweeted by Live Law.
NEET SS is scheduled to be held on September 1 and September 2 this year, as announced by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS). The exam was actually scheduled to be held in June but was postponed due to the plea filed in the Supreme Court over the changed exam pattern.
