With the clock ticking down to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Postgraduate 2023, scheduled for March 1st, 2023, a growing chorus of dental surgery aspirants are making a last-ditch plea for an extension of eligibility criteria and a deferment of the exam. According to the information bulletin released by the National Board of Examinations (NBE), the cut-off date for completion of the internship to be eligible for NEET MDS 2023 is March 31, 2023.
However, students are saying that many of their internships will only end in April-May owing to a disruption in their academic calendar due to COVID-19 for the past few years. With the future of their careers hanging in the balance, these students are calling for a delay in the exam, as the pressure mounts for a final decision to be made.
"Around 10,000 to 15,000 students are not eligible to sit for the exam as their internships started late. Every year it is the same issue as the pandemic has delayed the exams, announcement of results and beginning of internships," aspirants said.
Aspirants informed that the counselling for NEET PG and NEET MDS happens simultaneously. "The eligibility for NEET PG 2023 has been extended till June 30, 2023, which means the counselling will start only after June. Right now, our exam (NEET MDS) is scheduled for March which means we will be sitting idle from March until the counselling begins," said Ishita, a NEET MDS aspirant.
In a statement, aspirants said that interns from Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra are not eligible for the exam.
What happened earlier?
Owing to delays caused during the COVID-19 pandemic, the counselling for the NEET MDS 2020 exam was only conducted in November 2021. "Although the exam was conducted in December 2020, the NEET PG exam was delayed which meant that the counselling happened only in November 2021. There was no NEET MDS exam in 2021 which means that students who were supposed to sit for the exam in that year, could not," said Ishita.
In the academic year 2021-22, the NBE acknowledged the delay in the academic calendar and pushed the NEET MDS 2022 exam to May 2022 after calls for postponement as even the NEET PG 2022 exam was conducted in the same month. "But they are repeating the same mistake this year. If NEET PG eligibility criteria have been extended, it should be done for NEET MDS as well. The authorities want to get the academic calendar back on track but they cannot sacrifice a section of students for this. They should issue guidelines that ensure that exams are conducted and results announced on time, as only then can the internships start on time," the aspirant said.
"A midway solution in the best interest of most of the aspirants is to extend the eligibility of NEET MDS 2023 until June 30, 2023, and defer the exam for six to eight weeks to decrease the wait-out time after the exam which would be four months at the very least," NEET MDS aspirants said in a statement.
