Concerns have been raised by the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) over the eligibility requirements for the next NEET MDS 2024 exam, which would notably affect approximately 8,000 BDS interns from the 2018 batch. To ensure fairness for these candidates, FORDA urged the Health Ministry to consider rescheduling the exam and addressing the eligibility issue in a letter to Union Health Minister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya.
The letter emphasizes the precarious situation these interns find themselves in as they are not allowed to take the exam because of the present deadline for completing their internships. According to FORDA, this has had a major effect on their job prospects and preparation time. The letter goes on to list particular issues of concern, such as:
Eligibility requirements: BDS interns are less fortunate than MBBS interns under the current requirements, which results in inadequate preparation time parity.
Too little time for preparation: FORDA contends that because the exam is set for March 18, 2024, the impacted interns will not have enough time to study and may do worse as a result.
Court directives: The letter emphasizes the importance of swift attention and resolution by mentioning the existence of court orders pertaining to the situation.
To address these issues, FORDA has put out the following recommendations in particular:
Exam rescheduling: Permitting a reasonable postponement of the exam date would give time to address the eligibility problem and give the impacted interns a fair chance. They suggest coordinating the test with NEET PG 2024, ideally.
Extending the internship deadline would directly address the existing obstacle that the 8,000 BDS interns must overcome in order to remain eligible.
Coordinated admissions: Procedures would be expedited and equitable if common counseling and admissions for NEET MDS and NEET PG were conducted following the exam.
The letter highlights the seriousness of the situation and calls on the Ministry to step in and take the interns’ concerns into consideration. A prompt and efficient resolution is essential to guarantee that all qualified students have fair and equal access to the NEET MDS exam, as the exam date draws near.
