As many as 242 aspirants of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Postgraduate (NEET-PG) dropped out of the special stray vacancy round after being allotted a seat, a recent RTI response by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has revealed.
It is important to note that as per the MCC guidelines if a candidate fails to report to their allotted college even after the last round of counselling process, they are debarred from participating in the NEET-PG exam for one subsequent year. Additionally, a security amount of Rs 50,000 that students pay prior to participating in the stray vacancy round is also forfeited by the counselling committee.
An undertaking is also taken from candidates who wish to take part in the special stray vacancy round with the above-mentioned conditions.
The rule was introduced to discourage students from wasting seats.
The RTI was filed on January 30, 2024 by health activist Dr Vivek Pandey who advocates for several issues related to medical education.
In NEET-PG 2022 counselling, the number of students who left their seats after the counselling process was 127. This rose to 242 in NEET-PG 2023, the RTI response showed.
“Excluding students from upcoming examinations and counselling proceedings entails a significant loss of a valuable academic year, inflicting considerable distress upon aspiring individuals. While it is appropriate for the government to impose fines as a punitive measure, such penalties should remain within the bounds of affordability for the individuals involved,” Dr Vivek Pandey told EdexLive.
However, the act of debarring students constitutes a direct infringement upon their fundamental right to education, he added.
