NEET UG 2023: Clash with Punjab Boards & rising COVID cases lead students to seek exam postponement

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2023 is scheduled to be held on May 7, 2023. The date is drawing closer and aspirants are now urging the government to postpone the exam by a month. With regard to this, the candidates have been tweeting, sending emails to National Testing Agency (NTA) and have been storming social media by tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to ask for their help.

Clash with Boards

Candidates are asking for postponement for several reasons including the clash of Board exams with NEET UG 2023. A NEET UG candidate Mandeep Singh from Punjab brought to our notice that the ongoing Punjab Board exams are scheduled to end by April 24 followed by practical exams which allegedly conclude right before NEET UG. "With these exams being held right before NEET UG 2023, there is a lack of time for preparation," he stressed. 

Further, Singh pointed out that the Punjab government is not raising any concerns over the issue. When asked if he reached out to any officials, Singh said, "We raised this concern with our school authorities and they instructed us to focus on ongoing exams." 

Read Also : NEET UG 2023: With registration hitting all time-high, exam now tougher to crack?

Class XII exams and NEET droppers

Another main concern when it comes to preparation is covering the syllabus in its entirety. As several Board exams have been conducted in March-April, students point out that preparation will be difficult. "The problem is the NEET syllabus is vast with a total of 96 chapters. Even after studying day and night, we are unable to cover it," said Barsha Priyadarshini from Bhubaneswar, Odisha. 

Priyadarshini, who also gave her Class XII Board exams in March, points out, "There is a gap of one year between the exam every year. But this time, there wasn't a gap of even a year." The gap was nine months and 20 days.  

"Our NEET UG 2022 counselling ended in January. How can we manage to cover the vast syllabus?" questioned, a NEET UG dropper from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh Pravallika Narayana. "We have truly had lesser time for preparing for the exam this time," she added. 

COVID concern

Similarly, another dropper from Rajasthan, Akshat Bhargava cited COVID resurgence as a reason for seeking the postponement. "Earlier, I recovered from COVID and I don't want to get infected again. Although everyone says the recovery rate is more than 95%, the impact is the same as before," he stressed. Further, the mass crowding at NEET exam centres cannot be controlled by the government despite following all regulations, he alleges. 

"Every year they are reducing time to keep things on track. Last year the exam was held in July and this year it is in May. They gave only 10 months to complete the vast NEET course," Bhargava adds. Further, he questioned, "How will droppers prepare within this reduced time?" 

Competition and conflict

"Over 21 lakh students registered for NEET and the competition has increased. The problem isn't the competition, but the time," adds Priyadarshini. Adding to this, Bhargava opines that as Class XII Boards were being held, they should be given at least a gap of two months before NEET UG to revise Class XI, XII syllabus.

When EdexLive spoke to President of Gurgaon Parents Association, Pradeep Rawat, he said, "Students are requesting extra time because few of them feel that they are not getting enough time to prepare for NEET UG after Board exams while others are worried about COVID resurgence and the other lot are concerned that they have to wait for counselling for up to five to six months. Most importantly they want to be heard or answered to," he stressed.