NEET-PG postponement protest
- PC : MRP
New Delhi: A day after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced the postponement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) Examination, earlier scheduled to be held on Sunday, students have expressed their and criticized Centre's decision and demanded explanation. While the examination scheduled to be held on June 23 will now be rescheduled, a new date to be announced soon.
NEET-PG postponement: Statement issued by the ministry
The ministry, in a statement, said that the decision to postpone the examination was taken in view of the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations.
"Taking into consideration, the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of the processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by the National Board of Examination for medical students."
Students' reaction
"The NEET-UG exam's paper got leaked, NEET-PG was postponed 12 hours before, and the NEET-SSC exam date has not been announced yet. This shows how much the government is concerned about the health sector,” a candidate, who went to Jaipur for the exam, was quoted as saying by ANI.
He further pointed out that the Union Health Minister and Union Education Minister must apologise for what they have done. “Students and doctors have travelled a long way for the exam and come here; they have incurred a lot of expenses. On average, Rs 10,000 was the expenditure. The government must reimburse these expenditures," he added.
Jyoth Chouhan, another candidate, said: "NTA (National Testing Agency) informed at the last moment, 10 hours before that the exam has been postponed. If they had to reschedule, they should have announced that at least a few days ago. They didn't distribute exam centres properly, candidates got very faraway places at exam centres. Students from Vadodara had exam centres in Nashik and Madhya Pradesh. And then when they reached there, they were informed that the exam had been postponed. All are having great difficulties," he said.
Dr Rakesh Sharma, OSD to President and Member, Governing Body, NBEMS, while speaking exclusiveley to ANI, said: “All eyes of the nation are on NBEMS for the conduct of NEET PG 2024 and we will not let down the hope of the nation. We will conduct the test through a computer-based test (CBT) mode throughout the country."
It should be mentioned that the National Testing Agency (abbreviated as NTA), the NEET-UG exam conducting authority, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This in several protests across India. Meanwhile, protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Education has constituted a high-level committee of seven expert to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations. The panel will be headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) ChairmanKoppillil Radhakrishnan.
