The Tamil Nadu Resident Doctors Association (TNRDA) has issued a press release urging the National Board of Examinations (NBE), Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), and the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) to expedite the NEET-SS 2024 counselling and admission process.
This appeal follows a series of delays that have resulted in a disrupted academic year for superspeciality aspirants, leading to severe implications for the healthcare system.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test - Super Speciality (NEET-SS) 2024 exam, held on March 29 and 30, was supposed to mark the end of a long wait for thousands of aspirants. However, nearly a month later, the results have not been declared, throwing a wrench into the already delayed admission process.
Dr Keerthy Varman, General Secretary of TNRDA, speaking to EdexLive, emphasised the urgency of the situation: "The exam was online, so it's not a complex task to release the results. Delaying it for over a month is unacceptable. The delay in releasing the results will further postpone the counselling process, and another academic year will be effectively wasted."
The crisis is particularly severe in Tamil Nadu, which accounts for over 50 per cent of the superspeciality seats.
Dr Varman explained, "In Tamil Nadu, we are already struggling with inadequate manpower. PG doctors are working under pressure, and the lack of new super-speciality trainees exacerbates the situation. Both aspirants and current doctors are suffering."
TNRDA's press release further outlines their demands for the government to take immediate action:
Release of NEET-SS 2024 results – The results, which have been pending for over 30 days, must be declared by the last week of April 2025.
Commencement of counselling – The online counselling process should begin by the last week of April, allowing aspirants to secure their seats without further delay.
Completion of admissions – All allotments and admissions should be concluded by the second week of May to ensure that trainees can start their academic sessions without losing another year.
The consequences of this delay are far-reaching. The disrupted training process is not just a burden on the aspirants but also on the existing healthcare system. Critical departments like Cardiology, Neurology, Oncology, and Neonatology, which rely heavily on super speciality residents, are particularly vulnerable.
Dr Varman warned, "Two consecutive years of disrupted academic schedules will have long-term repercussions on the capacity of our healthcare system to provide critical care services."
The TNRDA’s concerns are amplified by the latest notice released on April 19 from the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), which requests colleges to submit the available seats by April 25, 2025. Dr Varman pointed out that the collection of this data could have been done earlier. Why now? he questioned, suggesting that it can be done swiftly in just a few days, but MCC is now unnecessarily delaying the entire process.
"Every state has the necessary infrastructure and connections to submit this data immediately. It’s not a time-consuming task," he said.
In response, TNRDA has called on the government to finalise the seat matrix within a week and begin the counselling process immediately.
"The seat matrix should be released without delay, and counselling should start within the next week. The result can be declared within days, so we don’t understand why it’s taking a month," Dr Varman added.
The situation has reached a critical point, and if immediate action is not taken, it will not only disrupt the academic careers of aspiring super specialists but also strain an already overstretched healthcare system.
TNRDA has expressed its solidarity with super-speciality aspirants across India, stressing the importance of swift action to avoid further damage to the healthcare workforce.
