NSUI President Writes To Health Minister Expressing Concerns Over NEET-MDS 2024 Exam (Image: Pixabay)
Varun Choudhary, National President of NSUI, has penned a letter to Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, requesting rescheduling and other relevant concerns of students appearing for the NEET-MDS 2024 exam. He urged the postponement of the exam to July, extension of internship cutoff dates, and scheduling of common counseling after completion.
Reportedly, the entrance test has been scheduled to take place on March 18, with candidates currently eligible to take the examination only on completion of their internships on or before March 31.
NSUI president raised many key issues including completion of internships as many interns have faced disruptions in their training due to the pandemic, resulting in extended internship completion dates. He also wrote that with only 11 days left until the exam, students are under extreme mental stress and uncertainty as the time is inadequate. Through his letter, he asked for parity with COVID-affected MBBS interns as COVID-affected MBBS interns received appropriate measures, but similar actions have not been taken for BDS interns.
The NSUI president also raised concern over DCI”s submission of false survey data to the Ministry, Federation of Resident Doctors’ Association (FORDA), and student representatives. He says that interns faced discrimination in terms of discrepancies in data provided by the Dental Council of India (DCI) about the accuracy and reliability of their submission. This data influenced policy-making decisions for NEET-MDS 2024, impacting the careers of thousands of students.
In light of these concerns, he asked for the postponement of the NEET MDS Exam 2024 preferably in July, to provide students adequate preparation time and a fair opportunity to compete. He also demanded to extend the internship cutoff date for NEET-MDS 2024 to accommodate pandemic-affected students and ensure fairness. The demand to schedule common counseling and admissions after internship completion has also been made in the letter.
According to reports, NEET-MDS applicants have reportedly petitioned the Supreme Court once again, claiming that the Union Government has not yet decided whether to postpone the exam, which is scheduled for March 18. The Union notified the Supreme Court on February 21 that it was looking into the NEET-MDS candidates” complaints about the internship deadline extension. The Union will have a week to decide on the appeal to postpone NEET-MDS 2024, as the Court declined to issue an order.
The latest application, however, makes clear that, despite the approaching examination date, the Centre has not yet decided on the postponement.
