Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has sent a letter to the NBEMS to postpone NEET MDS 2022 exam, and also extend its cut off date for completing internship.
NEET MDS 2022 should be postponed by 4-6 weeks, and the date of completing compulsory internship should be changed to July 31, 2022 – These are the two most important things conveyed by the competent authority to the National Board of Examinations for Medical Sciences (NBEMS). The letter is signed by the Under Secretary to the Government of India, Rajeev Kumar, and was first shared in the media on ANI twitter handle @ANI.
NEET MDS 2022 Exam Date Postponed
The letter states:
It is informed that the matter has been examined in this Ministry and in order to bring parity between the NEET-MDS 2022 and NEET-PG 2022 examination, it has been decided by the Competent Authority that the date for conduct of NEET-MDS examination, 2022 may be postponed by 4-6 weeks and preferably around the same date as that for NEET-PG 2022.
This means that the competent authority has told NBE to postpone the NEET MDS 2022 exam. However NBE has not yet released any official notice about finalization of exam date change.
Date to complete internship to also be extended
The letter also states:
It has further informed that it has also been decided by the Competent Authority that the date of completion of compulsory rotating internship for eligibility for admission to MDS courses may be fixed at 31st July, 2022 instead of 31st March, 2022.
It was only a day ago that NBE announced extension of NEET PG internship cut off date. The same step is recommended for NEET MDS as well.
What will be the new exam date for NEET MDS 2022?
The examination is scheduled to be conducted on March 06, 2022. However with today’s turn of events, it is expected that the exam will now be held around the exam date of NEET PG 2022, which is May 21, 2022.
The new dates of conducting the examination will be released soon by NBEMS on its official website natboard.edu.in.
United Doctors Front Association Appealed to the Ministry
The decision regarding the change in the schedule of NEET MDS 2022 has been taken after the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had received a letter from the United Doctors Front Association asking for a change in the date of the exam. The pressure on the infrastructure was also cited as one of the reasons for asking for an extension. As the NEET MDS batch of 2021 joined late, it is likely that their course will not conclude soon enough to accommodate the next batch also.
Incessant demands of dentists
Students were protesting and demanding the postponement of examination as well as internship across various social media platforms due to the loss of several academic sessions due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The situation in the country had forced many students to join late for their internships which will not be complete by the time the exam was scheduled, thereby making them ineligible to appear for the MDS exam.
Public and Celebrities Join Hands with the MDS Aspirants
The protest of the students to extend the date of the NEET MDS 2022 became a success after many people including celebrities. Famous author and motivational speaker Sreedhar Bevara tweeted:
“ Hon’ble @PMOIndia Shri @narendramodi ji, kindly help the aspiring #MDS students by offering a revised date of #NEETMDS2022. Exams within 5months isn’t in any way easy for the students (as they joined only in Nov21).”
The final date for NEET MDS 2022 has not been finalized yet as the competent authority is awaiting the official response from the Ministry of health and family welfare. The exam is tentatively scheduled to be held on the same date as that of NEET PG 2022.
Complete letter on NEET MDS 2022
