E-Paper
Six months since entrance exams, MDS aspirants still wait for admission to begin
Six months after nearly 30,000 Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS) aspirants cleared their all-India entrance exam, admissions to the course is yet to kick off. After seeking help from the government as well as the admissions authority to start the admissions process online, aspirants have now started an online petition on social media platforms hoping to garner more attention to their situation.
Six months after nearly 30,000 Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS) aspirants cleared their all-India entrance exam, admissions to the course is yet to kick off. After seeking help from the government as well as the admissions authority to start the admissions process online, aspirants have now started an online petition on social media platforms hoping to garner more attention to their situation.
"Every time we have written to the Medical Counseling 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 which is unacceptable anymore," said one of the aspirants.
Final year PG medical examinations had been stalled in most states due to the deterioration of Covid situation. Final year PG medical and dental exams in Maharashtra are currently underway. Similarly, no fresh admissions to PG medical, dental and diploma courses were done due to the postponement of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-PG) exams. NEET-PG exams are generally conducted in the month of December along with NEET-MDS, but while the MDS entrance exam was conducted as per schedule, NEET-PG for medical and diploma candidates was postponed.
"By June, most colleges would have finished the first semester of our MDS course but here we are, waiting for the admissions to begin. The entire process will be conducted online, then 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 the all-India quota seats are conducted by the MCC, state quota seats are filed 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.
After receiving queries from students from across the country, the MCC responded to an RTI inquiry about the status of MDS admissions.
“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 the statement.
