“What's happening with the education system in India?”, Do you find yourself asking this question? Given the trail of events that have followed over the past week, it would naturally leave any citizen in a state of disappointment, irrespective of whether he/she is a student or not.
At a time when the country is already boiling over several exam-related issues such as the alleged paper leak case in NEET UG, cancellation of UGC-NET, and postponement of the CSIR-NET, the Centre's 'sudden' decision to adjourn the NEET PG exam has already added to the woes of citizens, especially students who prepared for the examination for months only to have been informed on the exam eve that the test has been postponed.
Now, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in its order said that the decision to defer the exams was taken as a “precautionary measure” considering recent allegations against the integrity of competitive examinations in the country. It added that a new date for the examination will be announced soon, the ministry said.
Also read: ABVP General Secretary on NEET-PG postponement: Government should give reasons behind the step
The news about the postponement of NEET PG examinations came late in the evening, with most students already reaching their allotted exam cities. While a section of the students was left questioning the authenticity of the order, the confirmation that followed left the medical aspirants nearly heartbroken and baffled.
It took no time for students, parents, and experts to express total disappointment on social media. In fact, many took to X (formerly Twitter) to vent their emotions.
Also read: A day before NEET PG was postponed, NBE issued this warning to candidates
For instance, Dr Tanmay Motiwala shared that one of his juniors, who is also a mother, had travelled 200 kilometres along with her infant and family for the examination, but all efforts went in vain
Another user Dr Ishika Dogra said that she and her sister had travelled more than 200 km to reach the exam centre. They came to know about the postponement of exams just 9 hours before.
Rohan Kaushik, a user on X, also expressed his anguish on the postponement of exams.
There were others like Dr Rohan Krishnan, Chairman of the FAIMA Doctors Association, who in a video message uploaded on Saturday night said the last-minute cancellation of the NEET-PG examination was very sad, adding that all the candidates had reached their examination centers in various cities. “I hope that the National Board of Examinations had concrete reasons to postpone this examination and they should come up with immediate answers,” he said.
Likewise, words of consolation also poured in from doctors to cheer up fellow aspirants. Dr Shivam, a user on X, said that although whatever happened was extremely shameful and unfair, he urged aspirants to treat it as dark before the dawn, keep themselves away from distractions, and most importantly, keep calm.
It may be mentioned here that the NEET PG is the second national-level entrance examination to be postponed in June. On Friday, the NTA announced that the CSIR-UGC joint NET had been deferred due to “unavoidable circumstances.”
Also read: What is NEET PG and why did the centre postpone it? Explained
Earlier this week, another entrance exam conducted by the NTA—UGC NET June 2024—was cancelled on suspicion that the integrity of the examination might have been compromised. Later, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan revealed that the test was cancelled after it was revealed that the paper was leaked on Darknet.
