Doctors unhappy with Centre’s move to remove upper age limit for NEET-UG

The Federation of All India Medical Association (Faima) has also termed the Centre’s decision unfair. Faima president Dr Rohan Krishnan told The Indian Express, “Dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists who appear for the exam will have undue advantage over mere Class XII pass out boys and girls and it will also increase the complexity of an already very tough exam.”

The age limit for general and reserved candidates in the NEET (UG) was 25 years and 30 years, respectively. According to Dr Krishnan, there is an age limit at every level in medical education. “At the end of the day, the number of seats remains the same, so at the end of the day, the number of doctors produced remains the same. Also, there is an upper age limit at every step of medical education — for senior residents, assistant professors and vice-chancellors — so, the government may have to remove the age bar from all the hierarchy,” Dr Krishnan said.

Rather than the age limit alone, it could be the number of attempts at NEET, said Dr Rajeev Yeravdekar, Dean, Faculty of Health Sciences at Symbiosis International University. “In western countries, people do have an option to enrol for medical education even after completing graduation or post graduation in related or diverse disciplines. Given the paucity of healthcare professionals, this would be a welcome step for mid-career change and address manpower crunch. Metrics could be worked out on various variables,” he said.

Former Indian Medical Association chief and presently the treasurer of World Medical Association Dr Ravi Wankhedkar termed it as a wrong move. At the state level unit of the IMA, a meeting is underway on the issue.