The Indian Medical Association (IMA) asked Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday to reschedule the NEET PG exam, which was originally scheduled for May 21. The association said the time between the NEET PG 2022 exam date and the completion of 2021 counselling is too short for an aspirant to prepare and appear for such a “extremely difficult exam,” citing the delay in All India Quota (AIQ) counselling for NEET PG 2021.

Due to Covid-19, the NEET-PG 2021 was held five months later than planned, and counselling, which was supposed to begin on October 25, 2021, began in January due to a pending decision on seat reservations. It was further delayed by the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 31, 2022, which ordered the cancellation of the Mop-up round and the conduct of a special round of counselling.

“Another five to ten thousand innocent interns who served as COVID warriors during the COVID-19 pandemic are ineligible to appear for NEET-PG due to a delay in completing their final examination and, as a result, their internship exceeding the eligibility criteria set for the examination,” the IMA wrote.

The IMA emphasised the need to postpone NEET 2022 examinations, citing scenarios and Supreme Court decisions on the timetable for postgraduate courses, as it “concerns career paths of lakhs of medical graduates.”

“Since the NEET PG 2022 examination date is May 21, 2022, we request your prompt intervention and urgent consideration of postponing the NEET PG 2022 examination for a reasonable period of time, so that current NEET PG 2021 aspirants have adequate time to prepare and appear for the upcoming NEET-PG 2022 examination, and the eligibility of all interns is also ensured,” the IMA said.

“We are confident that the issue will be addressed urgently by granting the prayer as requested herein in the larger academic and societal interest,” it continued.