Medical student urges HC to order PG exams be held

Medical student urges HC to order PG exams be held

Fears Losing Seat In Top Institute For Higher Studies

Rosy.Sequeira@timesgroup.com

Mumbai:  09.07.2020

Saying his career hangs in jeopardy, a medical student has urged the Bombay high court to direct the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) to declare dates and conduct the final year exams for the post-graduate MD and MS course.

Dr Nishant Gabbur is studying MS (general surgery) at Seth GS Medical College in Parel. He was to appear for the final year post-graduate exams from May 12 to 18, which were postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The rescheduled exams from June 15 to 26 were again postponed to August.

A resident of Akkalkot in Solapur district, Gabbur on June 21 appeared for the entrance test in DM/MCh courses conducted by Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh and stood second in the all-India ranking in the general category for neurosurgery for three coveted seats.

“The said exam is the toughest online test with only few selected seats against which thousands of students appear for the exams,” his petition said.

It said he had worked hard for years to prepare for it.

On June 30, PGIMER issued Gabbur a provisional appointment and admission letter and granted time to join by July 6 at the latest. The eligibility criteria mandate that a candidate must have passed MD or MS, or its equivalent qualification recognized by Medical Council of India.

Gabbur’s petition said that he was at risk of losing his seat to another candidate because MUHS had not held the exams.

Gabbur’s petition says he was “caught in a dilemma” and a “situation beyond his control” as MUHS had postponed the exams and not resolved the situation, “thereby hanging his career in jeopardy with the risk of losing one precious year and the entire process of preparation and reappearing for the DM/MCh course”.

It said that similar was the plight of hundreds of students across the state who had secured seats in prestigious institutions.

Gabbur also urged that PGIMER be directed to admit him for the DM/MCh neurology course pending the conduct of exams and declaration of results and to restrain it from allotting his seat to another candidate.