It is now confirmed that NEET PG 2021 has been postponed. The exam that was scheduled to be held on April 18, 2021 will now be held on a new date.
The first one to break the (good) news was Dr Harsh Vardhan, on twitter. The Minister of Health and Family Welfare tweeted “In light of the surge in #COVID19 cases,GoI has decided to postpone #NEETPG2021 exam which was earlier scheduled to be held on Apr 18. Next date to be decided later. Decision has been taken keeping wellbeing of our young medical students in mind.“
Shortly after his tweet, the exam organizing body, National Board of Examinations (NBE) published the official notice in this regard. The subject line of the notice reads “NEET-PG 2021 Postponed – Regarding”. And it spells out two critical points.
First, “The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Govt of India vide its letter no. V.11025/215/2020-MEP(FTS-8079808) dated 15.04.2021 has directed that in light of the present situation of COVID-19 pandemic and taking into account the safety and well-being of the students, the conduct of NEET-PG 2021 examination scheduled to be held on 18th of April 2021 be postponed.“
And second, “The next date of NEET-PG 2021 examination would be announced after reviewing the situation later.“
This exam postponement brings much awaited relief to the 1.74 lakh doctors who were contemplating how to appear in one of the most critical entrance exams of their career. With the fear of the pandemic on one hand, the call of duty was weighing upon the other – many doctors were reportedly not given leaves, and many were not sure how to take leaves in this critical juncture where doctors are running the lifeline of the nation.
What Will Be The New Exam Date for NEET PG 2021?
With NEET PG 2021 being postponed this time, it brings the count to its postponements to 2. It is worthy to note that the exam was initially scheduled to be held in January, then it was postponed to April. And now, there is no certainty as to what the new exam date may be.
Several organizations that are postponing their exams have said that they will assess the situation in June. However for NEET PG 2021, NBE has not pin-pointed exactly when they will take a call on a new exam date. While chances of the exam happening in April are less, its possibility in May are also not very high. Nevertheless, candidates should regularly check natboard.edu.in and be alert of when will the exam be held.
The reaction of candidates to the exam postponed are mostly positive. Though it is relevant to note that the preparation strategy for the changing exam dates will also have to become dynamic now.
