The National Eligibility cum Entrance test for post graduate students, scheduled to be held on April 18, has been postponed for the time being, in view of the rising Covid-19 cases, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday. "Decision has been taken keeping wellbeing of our young medical students in mind," the minister tweeted. The next date will be decided later, the minister added. For the unversed, NEET PG examination is for doctors seeking admission in MS, MD courses. The examination was earlier scheduled to be held in January but was postponed because of the pandemic. A group of doctors of Thursday moved the Supreme Court seeking the postponement of the examination, before the Centre announced its decision. In their plea, the doctors said that the candidates who would be appearing in the exam are doctors treating Covid-19 patients daily. the petition also mentioned that when the exam in January got cancelled, the pandemic situation of the country was not this perilous.
The exam is conducted by the National Board of Examination, which also released admit cards for the exam. The demand to postpone NEET PG 2021 was raised by several political leaders, with DMK chief MK Stalin voicing his concerns on Thursday. "CBSE exams have now got cancelled due to the second wave of #COVID19. With increasing cases and fatalities, when our doctors are fighting hard against all odds, is this the right time to hold National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) for PG courses," Stalin tweeted.As India recorded over 2 lakh fresh Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest ever since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, several states decided to postpone Board examination as holding exams at the times does not appear judicious.