Delay in admissions to medical courses to cost students their future, say parents

Constant delay in conducting admissions to the first year post graduate medical courses is not only creating trouble for those waiting to confirm seats, but also for those already pursuing PG.

Undergraduate and postgraduate medical aspirants feel left in the lurch as the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday decided to extend the stay on admissions to All India Quota (AIQ) medical seats. This automatically means admissions to state quota seats are also stuck, leaving lakhs of students more anxious than ever.

The AIQ and state admission rounds are conducted simultaneously because vacant seats in AIQ post the second round are surrendered for state quota. (Image used for representation). (HT PHOTO.)

“The apex court should have allowed interim relief to this batch of students that has already been through a lot including Covid-19, delay in conducting the entrance exam as well as delay in announcement of results. A course which usually starts regular classes by October every year will now start the process only in January next year,” said Dr Alfarooq Raut, a senior medical practitioner and parent of an aspirant.

NEET UG results were announced by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on November 1 this year, after weeks of delay due to a Bombay high court stay. Similarly, NEET-PG 2021 that is normally held in January was first postponed to February, then April, and eventually delayed indefinitely due to increasing cases of Covid-19 recorded across the country. The entrance test was finally conducted in September. But admissions post the exam has been stayed by the Supreme Court which is currently hearing a series of petitions filed by students questioning the validity of implementation of EWS and OBC quota in All India Quota (AIQ) seats.

The AIQ and state admission rounds are conducted simultaneously because vacant seats in AIQ post the second round are surrendered for state quota.

“While admissions are stayed, nothing is stopping the state common entrance test (CET) cell from starting the registration and document verification process for UG and PG medical aspirants. Once the state merit list is announced, students will get a decent idea about where they stand in the state and which course they will be eligible for. The CET cell should not waste any more time,” said Sudha Shenoy, parent and activist.

Constant delay in conducting admissions to the first year post graduate medical courses is not only creating trouble for those waiting to confirm seats, but also for those already pursuing PG. In October this year, separate letters were addressed to the Government of India, Chief Justice of India as well as the National Medical Commission (NMC) by several groups of resident doctors requesting that the NEET-PG counselling be started at the earliest.

“The constant delay has ensured that an entire batch of PG students go missing from the health sector, especially at a time when we need more support to fight the pandemic. This is unfair to us (resident doctors) as well as PG and UG medical aspirants waiting for the admissions process to begin,” said a senior resident doctor from KEM Hospital.