The central government has postponed the upcoming National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for postgraduate students due to raging Covid-19 cases in India.
“In light of the surge in Covid-19 cases, the Government of India has decided to postpone NEET PG 2021 exam which was scheduled to be held on April 18. The decision has been taken considering the wellbeing of our young medical students in mind,” Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan tweeted on Thursday. He added that the Centre would decide on fresh dates after taking stock of the situation.
On Thursday, several doctors approached the Supreme Court seeking postponement of the NEET exams. The petitioners pointed out that the candidates appearing in the exam are doctors treating Covid-19 patients daily.
The NEET exam is for doctors seeking admission in MS and MD courses. The exam was to be held in January but postponed due to the pandemic.
NEET’s postponement comes a day after the CBSE cancelled board exams for Class 10 students and postpone the same for Class 12 students. Many students and parents requested the Centre to either cancel or postpone the exams considering the Covid-19 surge.
