Six months after clearing entrance exams, MDS aspirants wait for admissions

No fresh admissions to PG medical, dental and diploma courses have been done due to the postponement of NEET-PG, which is normally conducted in the month of December.

Nearly six months after 30,000 aspirants cleared all-India entrance examination for entry to Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS) courses, the admission process is yet to kick off, forcing the candidates to start an online petition in an effort to get the government and admissions authorities’ attention.

NEET-PG is normally conducted in the month of December along with NEET-MDS. (Photo by Keshav Singh/Hindustan Times)

“Every time we have written to the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), we’ve received the same response that MDS admissions are conducted together with post graduate medical and diploma candidates, and until the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for PG candidates is not conducted, we have no option but to wait,” said one of the aspirants, who didn’t wish to be named.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, no fresh admissions to PG medical, dental and diploma courses have been done due to the postponement of NEET-PG, generally conducted in the month of December along with NEET-MDS.

“By June, most colleges would have finished the first semester of MDS course [in normal circumstances], but here we are, waiting for the admissions to begin. Why are the authorities forcing us to waste an entire year doing nothing,” asked another affected student.

MDS aspirants have to clear their BDS degree and complete at least one year of internship before they are eligible for admissions to the master’s course. While admissions for all-India quota seats are conducted by the MCC, state quota seats are filed later by the state common entrance test (CET) cell.

“Just like the entrance exams for PG medical and dental aspirants are conducted separately, admissions too should be conducted separately so our academic time is not ruined,” said the student.

In response to an RTI (Right to Information) query, the MCC deflected the onus to the Dental Council of India.

“NEET-PG 2021 for post graduate medical, dental and diploma has not been conducted yet, but counseling for MDS seats is also supposed to be done with MD/MS and diploma seats as per National Medical Commission (NMC) and Dental Council of India (DCI). You may approach DCI for further queries. Students are advised to visit the official website of the MCC regularly for further updates,” said their statement.