Days after the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court (HC) clarified that medical and dental students will be appearing for their upcoming exams offline and will require a RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test before entering the exam hall, the state, too, confirmed the same, leaving student groups unhappy.
Responding to queries on various social media platforms, state minister for medical education Amit Deshmukh said the apex medical body has advocated the need for offline exams.
“The National Medical Commission (NMC) has not given permission for online exams, and therefore, we have no choice but to conduct exams in offline mode,” tweeted Deshmukh.
On June 5, HC was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by HERD Educational and Medical Research Foundation, a Nagpur-based NGO (non-governmental organisation) and a physiotherapy student, Nitesh Dhanraj Tantarpale, requesting online examinations or vaccination for nearly 40,000 undergraduates before the semester exams, spreading across 20 days at 173 centres in Maharashtra, starts on June 10.
Refusing to give interim relief from the upcoming winter session exams, the court directed the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to issue an advisory to the principals of medical colleges across the state and also to publish on its website that examinees should have themselves tested for Covid-19 and produce a negative report along with the hall ticket on Day 1 of the exams.
Students have again taken to social media, sharing their concerns over offline exams.
{{/usCountry}}Students have again taken to social media, sharing their concerns over offline exams.
{{/usCountry}}“There’s no clarity on what happens if a student contracts the virus after the exam commences, or if a negative RT-PCR test report is needed before every exam. We are still awaiting clear instructions from MUHS,” said one of the aspirants.
While concerns have been raised about getting RT-PCR test results in time for students from rural Maharashtra, experts said with the Covid-19 cases dipping across districts, getting the reports will not be problem for any candidate.
“RT-PCR test, if negative, can be procured in less than 24 hours anywhere in the state at present. However, if students are worried about not being able to get reports in time, we suggest they get to the cities where their colleges are located, and get tests done closer to the exam venues,” said an official from a private Pune-based medical institute.