The counselling for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for Masters of Dental Surgery (MDS) 2020 is all set to begin within a month and will be held virtually. The Supreme Court had been informed by the Union government that the counselling for NEET-MDS 2020 will be conducted as per existing reservation policies or norms.
The announcement of the counselling date got delayed due to the clarification which was sought regarding OBC reservation in All India Quota (AIQ) seats from the top court. The Apex Court criticized the centre over postponement in the announcement of counselling dates for the exam.
“These are qualified BDS students. Why you have not held counselling since last year? Can you imagine the loss to India? You are not allowing them the degree by not holding counselling. You have been dilly-dallying for a year. Tell us within a week as to when are you holding it,” a bench comprising D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said during the hearing via video-conferencing.
The bench has given a week’s time to the government to file an affidavit.
The Supreme Court stated that the government is wasting the lives of doctors and it is a loss to the country. During the hearing, senior advocate Vikas Singh and lawyer Tanvi Dubey spoke on the plight of the dentists and asserted that candidates, who cleared the NEET-MDS exams last year, are still waiting for their admissions in postgraduate (PG) courses.
The NEET-MDS exam was held on 16 December last year. The National Board of Examination (NBE) had conducted the exam for admission to the Master in Dental Surgery (MDS) programmes.