Conduct exams according to schedule: National medical body

At a time when undergraduate medical students are requesting the state government to postpone medical exams, scheduled to begin on April 19, a statement released by the National Medical Commission (NMC) has maintained that exams should be conducted as per schedule

At a time when undergraduate medical students are requesting the state government to postpone medical exams, scheduled to begin on April 19, a statement released by the National Medical Commission (NMC) has maintained that exams should be conducted as per schedule.

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In the statement dated April 9, the director of the Undergraduate Medical Education Board of NMC said, “Considering various representations seeking guidance for the conduct of the final MBBS examinations in view of Covid-19 pandemic, it is decided that all exams should be conducted by the concerned universities as per their scheduled timeline.” It further advises universities to strictly adhere to the existing safety norms while conducting these exams.

Over the past few days, second- and third-year medical students from several government and private medical colleges in Maharashtra approached the state medical education minister as well as the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), requesting postponement of exams especially at a time when the state is recording 50,000-60,000 cases daily.

The exams in question were originally scheduled to take place in February, and were postponed first to March and then to April by the MUHS due to increasing Covid-19 cases and complaints of several medical students. According to the letter addressed to MUHS by students, close to 500 students from several medical colleges in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Satara and Solapur are currently in quarantine after testing positive, while many others have family members who tested positive recently and have to follow the two-week quarantine period.

“Some students are also currently stuck in mini-containment zones, making it impossible for them to leave the residential premises. Hostels, too, are overcrowded with four students sharing a single room and bathroom, which is the main reason for increasing cases in colleges,” said a second-year student from Government Medical College, Solapur.

The NMC letter, however, has clarified that exams should be conducted and in case external coordinators from outside the state are not available due to the current scenario, universities have been asked to invite other external examiners from the same health university for exams.

“The internal examiners must conduct the exams physically on the same premises,” states the letter.