The Service Doctors and Postgraduates Association has appealed to the Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University to not conduct the exams for students.
The University had on Thursday announced the tentative date for exams as August. Due to the COVID-19 lockdown the University had announced that it had postponed the exam that was scheduled for May. The students and faculty have since then been engaged in treating patients and the State government had converted all government medical college hospitals as COVID-19 treating facilities.
The association has pointed out that with students and faculty involved in managing COVID-19 patients they would not be able to prepare for the exam. Also, were the exam to be held then the students and faculty would have to be relieved for a month which at this time would not be possible.
Given that the students have been treating patients since March they are already mentally and physically exhausted. Besides the turn out of non-COVID-19 patients had fallen tremendously and hence it would be difficult to get clinical material for practical exams, the association has pointed out.
Even if the clinical material was available it would not be advisable considering the nature of COVID-19 infection that is currently raging.
University officials said though the institution had postponed the exams only till June 15, subsequent events had made it impossible to conduct them. In response to the University’s letter in June, the Directorate of Medical Education had in its July 4 letter pointed out that adequate facilities were available and non-COVID-19 patients were available for the exams.
Following this the University had gone ahead with the preliminary preparations for the conduct of exams. However, since then there had been representations from the students and the DME had forwarded their concerns, University officials said.
Vice Chancellor Sudha Seshayyan said it had since received representation from two batches of students. “The letter has been received and the University is now taking up the matter with the Governing Council and the Medical Council of India. The MCI has to give us a guidance on the possibility of not conducting the exam,” she said.
