Admissions for PG dental students yet to commence

MUMBAI: Dr Pratima Pandey, 24 is among at least 30,000 postgraduate (PG) dental aspirants who cleared the National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test-masters in Dental Surgery (NEETMDS) in December 2020 but are still waiting for admissions to begin.

What’s worse is that directives from the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), which handles all-india admissions for MDS aspirants, stated that admissions to the course can only begin once NEET-PG for medical and diploma students is conducted and results are announced.

“This means we will have to wait at least another four months for admissions to begin because the Central government recently postponed NEET-PG by four months,” said Pandey, one of many students affected by this decision.

While all BDS students who graduated this year have been roped in for Covid-19 duty, these MDS aspirants are waiting at home wanting to join the task force.

“Most students are already working eight-hour shifts daily with various hospitals, but those of us who cleared BDS earlier and are eligible for MDS are waiting to be called on the field, but with admissions stalled we can be of no help,” said Dr Balasubramniam Shankar, another aspirant.

MDS aspirants have to clear their BDS degree and complete at least one year of internship before they are eligible for admissions to the master’s course. While the all-india quota seats are conducted by MCC, state quota seats are filled by the state common entrance test (CET) cell.

“We can see that at present the burden of work on the medical faculty is large, and we are ready to participate in the Covid task force. Most of us have cleared our BDS in the last twothree years and are waiting for a word from the authorities,” added Shankar.

Final-year PG medical examinations have been stalled in most states due to the deterioration of the Covid-19 situation. Similarly, no fresh admissions to PG medical, dental and diploma courses were done due to the postponement of NEET-PG exams.

After receiving queries from students, a statement from MCC stating the reason for the delay was shared. “NEET-PG 2021 for PG medical, dental and diploma has not been conducted yet, but counselling for MDS seats is also supposed to be done with MD/MS and diploma seats. Hence, the tentative counselling schedule for NEET-PG medical/ dental seats has not been made yet. Students are advised to visit official website for further updates,” said the statement.