The Supreme Court on Friday had issued notice in the writ petition that challenged the changed examination pattern in the NEET SS 2022, which would now consist of 150 questions from the general category of the primary feeder broad specialty subject and from all sub- specialty/systems/component of that primary feeder broad specialty subject.
The writ was preferred by MD Radiation Oncologists and MD Anaesthesiologists NEET SS 2022 aspirant who had challenged the changed examination pattern. What was also making the aspirants aggrieved was the draft Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021 published by National Medical Commission which had proposed deletion of MD radiation oncology/radiotherapy as an eligible feeder specialty qualification for the super specialty course of DM Medical Oncology
The petition was listed before the bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha.
Doctors were represented by Advocate Shyam Divan who referred to one of the orders passed in a writ petition which had challenged the change in exam pattern.
- As per the 2018 pattern, 60% marks were to be attributed to questions from the feeder courses, but with the new pattern, all questions for the Critical Care super specialty will be drawn from General Medicine, thereby leaving students from other specialties at a serious disadvantage
. - It also refers to the chart of how the changed pattern alters and affects the prospects of MD Radiation Oncologists to do their Super Specialization in DM Medical Oncology and of MD Anaesthiologists to do their Super Specialization in DM Critical care.
You are concerned about the area of SS of oncology. Earlier it was provided that the ones who had MD could apply and now the neck is wider,” remarked Justice PS Narasimha pursuant to the submissions made by Senior Advocate.
The senior advocate said that the representation was also made before the authorities which were working on Postgraduate Medical Education Regulations, 2021 Education Regulations, 2021 which proposes to delete MD radiation oncology/radiotherapy as an eligible feeder
The petitioners said that the existing pattern has 40% mixed questions from all the broad specialties and 60% questions from Critical Care (i.e. the super-specialty subject) which ensures a level playing field, in the same beathe they also said that the petitioners have contended that the new pattern was forcing all the he candidates from the broad specialties to write a single paper which will have 100% questions from General Medicine.
The plea mentions that pattern is not just a waste of time and effort for all those who have prepared for Critical Care but also grossly biased against few broad specialties, particularly in favour of MD Medicine in so far as the choice of options is far greater vis-a-vis the choices available to either MD Radiation Oncology or MD Anaesthesia. Terming the change in pattern as “arbitrary, illogical, unreasonable and highly partial,” petitioners have contended that this is complete waste of time, resources and effort put by the candidates who have been preparing for a super speciality subject for years.