The counselling schedule for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET-PG) 2024 was released on November 1, 2024, following a prolonged wait of nearly three months since August.
According to the notification released by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) this year, the online stray vacancy round will continue until January 30, 2025, while the state counselling is scheduled to end by February 5 tentatively.
Four rounds of counselling are usually conducted for admission to Doctor of Medicine (MD), Master of Surgery (MS), Diplomate of National Board (DNB), and other PG diploma seats through NEET.
Emergent issues
Candidates preparing for the NEET-PG 2025 exam may encounter new challenges, as many uncertainties about the upcoming exam are already emerging.
There is growing speculation regarding the exam dates for NEET-PG 2025.
Dr Dhruv Chauhan, a health activist and member of the Indian Medical Council - Junior Doctors' Network (IMA-JDN), has suggested that the exam is unlikely to take place before May and might even be postponed due to the ongoing counselling process, which has been extended until January.
"As per my understanding, it would not be conducted before May," stated Chauhan.
But tensions are slowly mounting, as events may repeat themselves, with the cycle being disrupted yet again.
Dr Sandhya, a Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG), as well as a member of the Tamil Nadu Medical Students Association (TNMSA), expects that the exam will be conducted by July, six months after the NEET PG 2024 counselling concludes.
But being an FMG, the main contention remains — Time.
"I waited for more than 1.5 years to get an internship, and now, the added delay mounting on top of this is definitely a cause for worry," lamented Sandhya.
Before the pandemic, the counselling process typically concluded by January, but in the past three years, the dates have been pushed further, beyond the original timeline.
Disruption since COVID times
Reflecting on the pre-pandemic period, the NEET-PG 2019 exam was held on January 6, and the entire counselling process was completed by May.
While the NEET-PG 2020 exam took place in the month of January, the uncertainty of the time, thereby, delayed the forthcoming 2021 exam.
The NEET-PG 2021 counselling ended on March 4, 2022, and began the inception of an issue (or several) that have been continuing till now.
The next NEET-PG 2022 exam was conducted in a matter of months from the previous examination, on May 21, while the counselling ended on November 27.
This was a cause of dismay amongst students as the exam was not postponed. The reasons were:
- They were not able to complete their Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI)
- They were not fully prepared for the examination.
The NEET-PG 2023 examination was conducted on March 5. While candidates expected the examination to follow its usual routine and be conducted in March or April, but was postponed thrice. It was finally conducted on August 11.
There has been no official reason for the postponement as of yet, but it is widely speculated that the delay was due to the precautionary measures being taken due to paper leaks.
Is there a need for rectification? Let's look at these issues
Dr Lakshya Mittal, President of the United Doctors' Front Association (UDFA), remarked that this vicious cycle will persist unless a few issues are addressed and rectified.
Issue number 1:
For MBBS graduates currently undergoing their CRMI and planning to sit for the NEET-PG exam next year, their primary concern is whether they will be able to complete their internship within the deadline set by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
Issue number 2:
Additionally, aspirants who aren't able to secure a seat in 2024 counselling could face difficulties if the counselling is further delayed, potentially leading to unemployment and an extended gap period in their careers.
Issue number 3:
Not only this, Dr Mittal added that the problem mounts upon the third-year PG students as well.
To explain this, one must note the instance from the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) in Karnataka, wherein, 150 PG medical students were barred from appearing for their final university examination as they were unable to fulfill the attendance criteria.
The university issued a notice stating that PG medical students must maintain 80% attendance during each six-month period of their course in order to be eligible to sit for the university exams.
However, students admitted in the 2021-22 academic session have claimed that many were enrolled late due to delays in the counselling process. As a result, this requirement may prevent them from appearing for the exams.
Degradation of medical education?
"Such incidents will continue unless medical education is taken seriously. We (the UDFA) received responses from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare more than a month after we sent them an email, these delays hint towards the degradation of the medical education in the country," said the UDFA President.
Not an inconvenience
However, adding a different perspective to the story, Dr B Karunakar Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Telangana commented that these circumstances "rarely are a cause of inconvenience for the institutions," when asked if the delay in counselling affected the current doctors, especially with the delay of the incoming PG batch.
"We have enough doctors to attend to the patients, this may not be a cause for concern now. The institution is ready with the processes and would start with the same in accordance with the rules laid down by the MCC," said the VC.
Lastly, he commented that the delay would cause stress and uncertainty among the candidates, but the delay, per se, is not a cause for any disruption in the daily workings of the institution.
Adapting to the needs of the time...
As the delay in the schedule may persist, as per Dr Ashwini Dalmiya, Secretary, Indian Medical Association (IMA) Central Delhi, and a member of the executive committee of Delhi Medical Council, the medical councils will now have to adapt as per the demand of the time.
"There will be a ripple effect, but the authorities are trying to resolve the issues. The system will not move back to the old schedule but will be adapting to the needs of the time," said Dalmiya.
But...
"There needs to be some sense of stability," said Dr Vasifa. "The exam should be held in the same month every year, so that the previous batch can plan their preparation accordingly. There shouldn't be any element of surprise when it comes to such crucial exams," she added.
Highlighting the challenges faced by aspirants, Dr Vasifa, a NEET-PG 2025 aspirant, explained that implementing a well-planned schedule would allow candidates to plan their careers more effectively, preventing situations of unemployment.
"Employers don't hire us for just two or three months, and as a result, many job opportunities slip away. At the age of 27 or 28, we can't continue to rely on family for financial support," she said.
Only time will reveal whether the NEET-PG examination will navigate its challenges smoothly or spark yet another series of setbacks and failed attempts.
