Kochi: Thousands of candidates across the country who wish to apply for the NEET super-specialty medical entrance (NEET SS) this year are a harried lot as they are not able to apply for the same due to the negative stand taken by the government agency authorised to conduct the exam, the National Board of Examination (NBE) and Prometric, the US-based private agency to which NBE has outsourced the conduct of the exam.
This year, for the first time, there is going to be only one entrance examination for admission to all super-specialty courses in the country. “The private firm Prometric is now informing candidates who are trying to register for the exam online that this year the seats at their centres for the exam have been filled and they are not in a position to accommodate candidates anymore. Nearly 15,000 doctors who wish to pursue super-specialty courses across the country have been affected in this way,” said Dr Fadl H.V., a prospective candidate from Kochi who is practicing in a private hospital here.
The last date to apply for the exam is May 19 and the test is to be held on June 11. A total of around 8,000 super-specialty seats will be filled through the NEET SS.
“We can’t register for examination as the online application process will not be completed without opting for a centre of examination. Due to non-availability of seats in the examination centre we will be wasting an entire year. They (Prometric) need to arrange more facilities at their examination centres and make necessary changes in their website so as to accommodate us. We tried to contact NBE, but our attempts went in vain as all communication regarding examination is to be done with Prometric only,” said Dr Fadl.
