‘Proposed rules could prolong PG evaluation’

MEDICOS RAISE VOICE

‘Proposed rules could prolong PG evaluation’

Will Be More Awkward, Say Medical Experts

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:4.8.2021

The draft Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations 2021 could well make the evaluation process for PG studies awkward, besides leading to a month-long delay in announcement of the exam results, feel experts in the education sector.

Experts in the education sector say that by the present evaluation process, where four valuators are roped in for every field of postgraduate (PG) and PG super-specialty courses in medical studies, takes about 15-20 days before declaring the results.

The draft proposed by National Medical Commission aims to change the evaluation process, that could lead to a delay of one month in announcing the results, said an Ahmedabad-based expert in the medical education field. According to the existing system, two of the four evaluators are to be from within Gujarat while the remaining two are to be from other Indian states, they said. There are four exam papers for PG medical and PG super specialty courses.

“All the answer scripts shall be subjected to two evaluations by the concerned university. The average of the total marks awarded by the two evaluators for the paper, rounded off to the nearest value, shall be considered for computation of the results,” according to clause18.2 of the draft.

All the answer scripts, where the difference between two evaluations is 15% and more of the total marks prescribed for the paper, shall be subjected to a third evaluation, it proposes.

“The draft further proposes that the average of the best two total marks, awarded by the three evaluators for the paper, rounded off to the nearest value, shall be considered for final computation of the results. This makes the entire process very clumsy and will lead to a delay in the announcement of results,” said an academician.

After the computation and declaration of the results, under no circumstances is revaluation permitted by any authority, the draft states. All health universities/institutions imparting postgraduate courses shall develop a platform for bar-coded digital evaluation, it further states. Experts said if implemented, the rules may lead to 30% decline in PG medical seats in Gujarat. About 2,000 PG medical and PG super-specialty seats in the state could be affected by the new set of rules, said sources.