The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test – (Postgraduate) (NEET-PG)-2021 medical entrance exams scheduled for April 18 has been postponed in light of the surge in COVID-19 cases, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted on Thursday evening.
He said the new date for the exam will be announced later. “Decision has been taken keeping the well-being of our young medical students in mind,” he said in his tweet.
The National Board of Examinations (NBE) was scheduled to conduct the entrance test this Sunday and the decision comes following an outcry by students, parents, medical experts and Opposition leaders demanding postponement.
The test was to be conducted for admission to MD, MS, PG Diploma programmes for the academic session 2021. Earlier on Thursday a group of student doctors moved the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the NEET-PG medical entrance exams and a bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde was scheduled to hear the matter on Friday.
The petitioners reportedly said forcing doctors, who treat novel coronavirus patients on a daily basis, to attend a physical exam would put thousands of lives at risk.
