No plan to suspend NEET PG 2021 and other medical exams: Minister informs Parliament

Bharati Pravin Pawar, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare recently informed the House that the Centre has no plan to suspend the entrance exams including NEET PG and NEET UG. He further reiterated that exams would be conducted with extra protective measures amid Covid-19.

The government has said that there is no plan to suspend the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) for UG and PG courses amid the third wave of Covid-19 which is expected to hit the country in a few months from now. While replying to a question during a recent Lok Sabha session, Bharati Pravin Pawar, the Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, said that these exams would be held as per the schedule, NEET PG 2021 on September 11 and NEET 2021 on September 12.

The Minister further told the House that the entrance exams would be conducted with extra precautionary measures and Covid-19 protocols. The written response was given to a question asked by Dr T Sumathy, an MP. Sumathy asked the MoS, Health about the details of SoP on safety measures for students, teachers and other staff if the government decides to conduct the exams in the coming months.

COVID-19 precautionary measures for NEET PG and NEET UG

He also apprised the House about the proposed precautionary measures and Covid-19 protocols for safe conduct of the exams. Some of the protective measures have been mentioned below:

• In order to avoid overcrowding, the number of exam centres has been increased

• The admit card will bear Covid e pass to facilitate the movement of candidates to the examination centre

• There would be a provision of staggered entry and exit at the centre

• The temperature would be recorded at the entry point and if any candidate having high temperature than the normal level, they would be allowed to take exam in separate isolated labs created for this purpose

• Wearing face masks will be compulsory. Candidates would be provided a protective gear safety kit, comprising a face shield, face mask and hand sanitizer

• Proper measures would be in place to manage crowd outside the exam centre

NEET PG 2021, scheduled for April 18 earlier was postponed for four months as Covid-19 cases were on the rise. Recently, NBE announced the revised date for the exam. NEET 2021 date was announced way back in the month of March and students had been waiting for the application process to start. The application window for NEET 2021 was activated recently.