After the NEET-PG postponement hearing was held at the Supreme Court today, May 13, the order given by the apex court entails that the entrance exam will not be postponed, meaning that it will go ahead as scheduled on May 21. For thousands of doctors who failed to register for NEET-PG due to the ongoing counselling rounds and even those who were expecting to be granted more time for preparation, this decision comes as a blow.
Over 2,06,000 doctors have registered for the exam this time and the court's order stated that, "they will be put to prejudice if the exam is further postponed." The court was of the view that there is a large body of students and the needs of patient care, neither of which can be ignored. It was also noted that the petitioners who were appearing for counselling were not barred from registering for the NEET-PG 2022.
The Supreme Court went on to state that postponing the exams will "create chaos and uncertainty" while also creating a "deficiency of doctors in hospitals."
"Any delay in conducting the exam will result in fewer number of resident doctors. This year only 2 sets of doctors are there. The request cannot be entertained due to the reason that it would have affect on the patient care and the career of the doctors," it went on to state in its order, as reported by LiveLaw.in.
The plea was filled by a group of doctors on the grounds that the exam dates were clashing with the ongoing counselling for NEET-PG 2021. The plea was filed through advocates Ashutosh Dubey and Abhishek Chauhan.
It does mean that the final hopes of those wishing to see some more weeks of preparation time, as well as those seeking to register for the exam, have ended. Students who did manage to register will have no more distractions occupying their minds till the exam date and have been advised by medical associations to continue their preparations in full swing.
