Medical education aspirants in Jammu and Kashmir—who had applied or appeared for an all-India level examination held on May 1—are virtually in a state of shock as they have been declared ineligible for the proposed second phase of the examination to be held in July this year.
A fresh communication from All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) has declared students ineligible for National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET)–II—the medical entrance examination that has replaced Common Entrance Test (CET) for entry to medical colleges in India, including those in Jammu and Kashmir.
A group of MBBS aspirants from Kashmir, who intend to appear in State-Level Common Entrance Test, said they received SMS from AIPMT on Saturday, which read: “Candidates (who) applied for AIPMT-2106/NEET Phase I to be held on May 1st 2016 are not eligible to apply or appear for NEET Phase-II to be held on 24th, July 2016’. The message further instructed candidates to appear in the exam (AIMPT) at respective centers ‘as per schedule’ on May 1.
While many students had applied for the May-1 AIPMT, many of them gave up the idea of appearing in the test for many reasons, especially to focus better on the CET.
An aspirant, Nazrul Islam, from South Kashmir’s Pampore said he was shattered when he received the SMS from the AIPMT.
“Throughout the year I didn’t waste a single day and was preparing for the CET. I had applied for AIPMT also but when I realized that there is a gap of only two weeks between the two examinations, I gave up the idea of appearing in the AIPMT to concentrate on CET better,” he said.
Nazrul said for him, the travel to Dehradun—where his exam center was fixed—would have meant waste of ‘many precious days’.
Like Nazrul, another aspirant from Srinagar, Iqra Andrabi said she decided to forgo AIPMT-2016 “to give my best to CET.”
“All my friends and collegues decided that we would prepare better for CET,” she said. “Not in our wildest dreams had we thought that we would lose a year due to this sudden decision.”
In simple words, an official said, the candidates who had applied for AIPMT held on May 1—also called as NEET-I—are not eligible for NEET-II. And in this scenario, he said, in case the CET is not held in Jammu and Kashmir, these students can’t appear in any medical examination this year.
The AIPMT has no examination centre in J&K and that’s why many aspirants—even though they had applied for the exam—decided not to appear in it.
Sheikh Mohsin, an aspirant from north Kashmir’s Kupwara—whose AIPMT exam center was in Delhi—said his father could not afford his travel and stay expenses.
The AIPMT’s official website reads: ‘Candidates who have applied for AIPMT/NEET Phase–I will not be allowed to appear in NEET Phase –II’.
The students who have missed the examination held on May 1 are feeling cheated as well. Adil Hussain, a student who called us on Sunday, said he had appeared in NEET-1 for ‘practice’.
“I thought appearing in this exam will give me exposure and take off my exam anxiety. Now, it appears that it was my first and last chance (for medical examination) this year,” he said.
“They (NEET-II aspirants) will have additional three months to prepare for the same exam. How is this fair?” said a senior professor of Medicine at GMC Srinagar.
Aspirants have urged the government of Jammu and Kashmir—which has decided to challenge the Supreme Court verdict in view of Article 370—to take a serious note of the ‘raw deal’ they have landed into and help them save their careers.
Candidates who applied for NEET-I ineligible for NEET-II
