Dr. Lakshya Mittal Criticizes Last-Minute NEET-PG Exam Postponement

The NEET-PG exam, which was supposed to be held on June 23, was postponed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare just 10 hours before it was scheduled to take place. Dr. Lakshya Mittal, National President of the United Doctors Front Association, expressed strong disapproval of the decision, stating that it was emotionally damaging for doctors and indicative of a broken medical education system.

Dr. Mittal said, “NEET-PG exam, which was supposed to be held tomorrow, has been cancelled at the last moment… Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in its press release, has mentioned that the exam has been postponed seeing its integrity and sensitivity… This is another scam after NEET-UG… Candidates have travelled across states and cancelling the exam 10 hours before it is scheduled is no less than playing with the emotions of the doctors.”

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare explained that the postponement was due to concerns over the integrity of the examination process. They assured that a new date for the exam would be announced soon. The Ministry also expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the students, stating that the decision was made in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities, leading to protests and demands to disband the NTA. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, raising further concerns.

In response, the Ministry of Education has formed a high-level committee led by former ISRO chairman Dr. K. Radhakrishnan to recommend reforms in the examination process, data security protocols, and the functioning of the NTA. The committee will submit its report in the next two months.