Today, January 29, the All India Students Union (AISU) wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the Dental Council of India and the National Board of Examination (NBE) regarding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Masters of Dental Surgery (NEET MDS) exam schedule.
On January 20, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) released a notification announcing the revised exam date of the NEET MDS 2024. According to the revised schedule, NEET MDS Exam 2024 is scheduled to be conducted on March 18 instead of February 9, 2024.
This revised date created unrest among the dental student fraternity. As per reports, the students have started online campaigns and around 8,000 aspirants have signed online petitions across various platforms seeking the postponement of the exam. As per the petition which was initiated on change.org on January 20, 2024, over 3,000 have signed so far.
Concerns raised by the AISU include:
1. The common counselling process for NEET PG (National Eligibility Entrance Test Postgraduate) and NEET MDS, coupled with the fact that admission can only commence post the completion of the NEET PG internship (expected in Aug-Sept 2014), renders the March NEET MDS exam impractical
2. Repetition of 2020 scenario where candidates who appeared for NEET MDS in December 2020 had to wait until November 2021 for counselling as it happens simultaneously with NEET PG. And the NEET PG exam was postponed multiple times due to COVID-19. This affected students as they were left idle, waiting for counselling. Therefore, the medicos fear that the same scenario will repeat if NEET MDS is not conducted concurrently with NEET PG in July.
3. Delayed information hampering aspirants' preparation and deterioration of their mental health
4. The 2018 batch of BDS (Bachelor of Dental Surgery) students face ineligibility due to the extension of internships beyond March 31, 2024
"We earnestly request the competent authority to reevaluate the NEET MDS exam schedule and consider aligning it with NEET PG, preferably in July. This adjustment will not only address the highlighted concerns but also ensure fairness and uniformity across both— NEET PG and MDS aspirants," they requested adding that failure to address these issues promptly could potentially jeopardise the future of more than 25,000 NEET MDS aspirants.
