HOLD EXAMS ONLINE OR PROMOTE US: MBBS STUDENTS TO AUTHORITIES

MUMBAI: A day after officials from the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) said that they will seek the state government’s permission to start offline exams for second -and third-year MBBS students, many aspirants raised concerns over the idea on social media.

In several posts addressed to the state medical education minister, MUHS, National Medical Commission (NMC) as well as the Union health minister, students have requested authorities to either hold the upcoming exams online or promote them to the next academic year based on their performance in the current year. “Most of us are part of the Covid-19 workforce and many are currently infected by the virus. Several students also have family members fighting for their life at present. So holding exams in such a scenario will be unfair on us,” said third-year MBBS student Anup Thorve.

He added that at present, Covid-19 cases are on the rise and the different variants are leaving patients with severe issues, including the black fungus, which has made more students go against the idea of physical exams any time soon.

Usually scheduled to take place in December-january, the second and third-year MBBS exams were postponed thrice this year due to the rising Covid-19 cases recorded across the state. As per the state government, the exams will now be held in the first week of June.

A senior official from MUHS told HT that they as the lockdown restrictions in Maharashtra ends on June 1, the university will approach state government seeking permission to start physical exams for MBBS students from June 2.

Students said the move will create more trouble for them.

“Many already fear the 14-day quarantine period and are hiding their symptoms, which has led to a rise in the cases among students. The fear of losing out on exams has added to anxiety of students,” said Ruchita Jadhav, a second-year MBBS student.

Many also highlighted how the lack of doses in Maharashtra has left at least 75% of second -and third-year MBBS students without vaccination, and expecting such students to appear for physical exams will be unfair.htc