Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal raised concerns with Health Minister J P Nadda on Friday about the “impractical changes” in the examination centres for NEET-PG candidates from Kerala. Venugopal urged that these candidates be allotted centres within their state or in nearby locations.
In a letter to Nadda, Venugopal, the MP from Kerala’s Alappuzha, highlighted the plight of numerous candidates from Kerala and elsewhere who have applied for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for postgraduate medical courses (NEET-PG). He emphasized that these aspirants have faced a series of “distressing and impractical” changes regarding their examination centres and dates, culminating in a situation that demands immediate rectification.
Initially scheduled for March 3, the NEET-PG exam has been postponed multiple times, most recently rescheduled to August 11. On July 19, aspirants were asked to select new exam centres, but candidates from Kerala were given limited options within the state and a mandatory fourth option in faraway places like Andhra Pradesh. Despite assurances that exam centre details would be released on July 29, candidates only received emails on July 31, merely indicating the city names, with specific centre details to be disclosed on August 8, just three days before the exam.
This situation has left around 1,000 candidates from Kerala with exam centres in places like Tirupati and Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, and others in similar circumstances. The announcement of exam centres just 11 days before the exam date has created significant logistical challenges, with reserved train tickets unavailable and flight tickets prohibitively expensive. Finding safe accommodation is also a concern, especially for pregnant women and recent mothers among the aspirants, leading to severe mental trauma and stress.
Adding to the ordeal, Kerala is currently experiencing heavy rains, floods, and landslides, severely disrupting transportation even within the state. The severe landslides in Wayanad, which have claimed numerous lives, further exacerbate the situation.
Venugopal urged Nadda to intervene immediately and ensure that NEET-PG candidates from Kerala are allotted exam centres within their state or, at the very least, in nearby locations to alleviate the immense stress and logistical challenges they are currently facing.
