NEET PG postponement: Students who travelled to appear for exam cry foul
Aspirants across the country were reportedly left distraught and anguished after the Union Health Ministry's decision to postpone the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) late on Saturday, June 22, night as a "precautionary measure" amid the ongoing alleged UG paper leak controversy.
Around two lakh aspirants were expected to appear for the exam scheduled for Sunday, June 23. Many of them had reached the examination venues after covering long hours of travel.
One such individual was 27-year-old Monisha Ravichandran, who travelled from hometown in Tirupathur, Tamil Nadu to Hyderabad with her parents and reached on Saturday, June 22.
The trio covered the nearly fifteen-hour journey (around 700 kilometres) via bus to make it to Monisha's centre at iON Digital Zone, Arunodaya Nagar on the Vijayawada Highway.
Expressing her disappointment, the aspirant, who quit her job as a private practitioner two years ago, told The New Indian Express that she could not sleep throughout the night after watching the news of another postponement of exam.
"Initially, the government announced the exam was postponed from March to July and then advanced to June. It has been really confusing and mentally exhausting to constantly check the website for updates. My parents and I were very upset after the news. I have been preparing for the past two years, so I thought I could finally catch a break, but this news shattered my dreams," asserted Monisha.
The NEET-PG has witnessed several date changes, as it was originally supposed to take place on March 3 but was postponed to July 8 by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), the body that conducts the test.
However, the exam was once again shifted and advanced to June 23, and now it has been postponed again.
Meanwhile, Monisha's family had to shell out around Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 from their pockets for the two-way journey, including tickets and accommodation.
The aspirant hoped that if the government had made the announcement at least 24 hours prior, they would not have escaped the physically and psychologically challenging travel.
The announcement came at around 10 pm on June 22, which was less than 12 hours before the students were supposed to appear for the exam at 9 am on Sunday, June 24.
"Considering the government was aware of the NEET-UG paper leak, they should have handled it with a better plan. Acting irresponsibly, they are making the aspirants suffer," she lamented, adding that students will now be in constant fear due to the uncertainty about the date of the exam.