Expedite Postgraduate Medical Allotment Process: AIPSN

Asking the central government to take steps to expedite postgraduate medical allotment process immediately, the All India People’s Science Network, in a release, has said that the delay poses a great threat to public health.

The release dated December 9, read: “The postgraduate admission to various medical colleges all over India is being delayed due to dispute over the Economically Weaker Section reservation policy in NEET PG counselling. It is already late by one whole year. Currently the case is in the Supreme Court. During the last session, considering the Union Government’s request, the court had postponed the case to January 2022.”

It added, “Due to these issues newly graduating doctors are unable to join hospitals whereas as PG students, they would be serving as resident doctors and will be involved in service provision. As a result, existing doctors in medical colleges and other hospitals are forced to work for 24 hours a day. Hospitals and medical colleges in our country are facing severe staff shortages and this delay in the admission process keeps worsening the situation further.”

Read the full text of the statement below:

Take immediate steps to expedite P. G Medical allotment process

The Postgraduate admission to various medical colleges all over India is being delayed due to dispute over the Economically Weaker Section reservation policy in NEET PG counselling. It is already late by one whole year. Currently the case is in Supreme Court. During last session, considering Union Government’s request, court had postponed the case to January 2022. Due to these issues newly graduating doctors are unable to join hospitals where as PG students they would be serving as resident doctors and involved in service provision. As a result existing doctors in medical colleges and other hospitals are forced to work for 24 hours a day. Hospitals and medical colleges in our country are facing severe staff shortages and this delay in admission process keeps worsening the situation further. Physically and mentally exhausted resident doctors all over the India are now boycotting all non emergency services as part of a strike against the Union Government’s delay in admission procedures.

In India due to a lack of comprehensive primary and secondary health care, the majority of our population relies on medical colleges for a wide variety of public health services. It is the common people of the country who are largely affected by the current situation. Inpatient and outpatient treatments, Covid and non-Covid treatment all are now in a crisis due to the staff shortage. This situation will become catastrophic if newly reported corona strains start to spread.

The current crisis in NEET illustrates how excessive centralization can lead to a nation-wide crisis in many critical areas. Having created this problem the centre has to be more pro-active in solving it. Though for this year it needs to go ahead with an interim arrangement by which admissions would continue, this whole crisis is also a call for re-examining NEET and all such forms of excessive centralization.

Without going into the merits or otherwise of NEET itself, All India Peoples Science Network demands the Government of India to speed up the NEET Medical PG Counselling for those who have taken the exams in good faith; and considering the great threat this delay poses to public health; and for strengthening the public health services to be able to fight another possible  wave of the Covid pandemic.