The medical community has raised concerns regarding the overlapping counselling schedules for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Super Specialty (NEET SS) and Institute of National Importance Super Specialty (INI SS) exams this year.
On Tuesday, November 21, the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) wrote a letter to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya demanding an urgent intervention.
Dr Karan Juneja, Chief Advisor, FAIMA, told EdexLive, “The issue is that the counselling schedules for INI SS and NEET SS exams are clashing, leading to confusion among the students. Ideally, the INI SS should precede the NEET SS counselling. Regarding the same, the association is in communication with the officials and a solution is expected soon. We are also planning to meet the examination director for INI (AIIMS)”
The letter drafted by FAIMA also adds that the current schedule is causing logistical and financial strain on candidates who are also serving in various hospitals and that there is potential for significant disruption and injustice in seat allocation if no intervention is made.
Background
The NEET SS counselling for admission into super-speciality courses is already underway, with the first round of results announced and the deadline for joining the allotted institutes set for November 24. On the other hand, the counselling results for INI SS, which is an exam for admission into super-speciality courses in All India Institutes Of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), are yet to be announced. The departmental assessments at AIIMS concluded on November 19 and the results are expected by the end of this week.
However, this might create an issue for candidates securing a seat in AIIMS through INI SS as the first round of NEET SS would be concluded by then and the students might have to submit their original documents to the institutes allotted through NEET SS, inhibiting their ability to opt for INI SS seats.
The medical associations and students have urged the Union Health Minister and Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) to either postpone the NEET SS counselling by two weeks or expedite the declaration of INI SS results before November 23.
Solution expected soon?
Dr Aviral Mathur, President of the Federation of Resident Doctors' Association (FORDA) who also appeared for the two examinations this year, said that the association had a conversation with senior officials of MCC and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to discuss their concerns.
“The officials were already aware of the problem and have ensured that they will expedite a solution. This year, the NEET SS exam was delayed due to the G20 summit being held in New Delhi which has led to this situation. It is difficult to say how many students will be impacted by this clash until INI SS counselling results are released and the solution is very precarious. We are pushing for INI SS counselling results to be expedited instead of postponing the NEET counselling process,” he added.
