Here’s how delay in NEET 2020 affected academic session of medical colleges in India

The postponement of NEET 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the academic calendar of medical colleges across India. The schedule is likely to be hit this year as well. 

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) 2020 was held on September 13 due to which results, counselling and the overall admission process got delayed.  

Shiksha talks to first-year MBBS students and teachers to examine the impact of NEET on the academic calendar in medical colleges in India. 

Satwik Godara, AIIMS Delhi 

Satwik Godara, who secured AIR 7 in NEET 2020 and currently studying MBBS from AIIMS Delhi, said, “NEET 2020 date was delayed beyond expectations, creating frustration among students, but if we look on the bright side, students got additional time to plan their preparation strategically for the best possible score. I was allotted a seat in AIIMS Delhi in the first round of counselling, which took place in November. Our classes began online in December and offline classes started in February. The syllabus is same and going fine, only the time for studying has been extended. Now since the institute has opened, we will be able to perform practicals. There is no update on when the final exams will take place.” 

Saroor Sarao, Government Dental College, Patiala 

Saroor Sarao, 20, who is studying Bachelor of Dental Surgery(BDS) from Government Dental College and Hospital, Patiala, said, “NEET counselling began online in October 2020. I had applied for the second round of counselling from where I was allotted a seat in my current college. Generally, classes begin in August, but in our case, classes began from January 16, 2021, which was pretty late. Offline classes continued till March, after that the college was shut following a spike in COVID-19 cases. From April till June, our college shifted to online learning because of which we could not get any practical knowledge. Online learning experience was terrible. Now, the college has again started offline classes, which is a sigh of relief.” 

When asked whether the curriculum has been reduced, he said, “No, curriculum is the same. Generally, the final exams are held in July, but we have been told that we can’t be expected to take exams anytime before December because it’s just been six months since our classes have started.” 

Atul Bharti, AIIMS Kalyani 

Echoing similar concerns, Atul Bharti, who is pursuing MBBS from AIIMS Kalyani, said, “I was allotted a seat in AIIMS Kalyani in the first round of counselling, which took place in November 2020. Our classes began offline in the first week of January and continued till April. After that, our college shifted to online classes because of which we could not do any practical work. But now, we are attending physical lectures from July 1.” 

On being asked whether the syllabus is same like previous years or not, he said, “NEET syllabus is same like before. Our teachers adopted smart time management skills to complete the syllabus. Now, only 1/3rd of our syllabus is left. Apart from syllabus, group discussion also plays an important role in our studies and frequent MPQ tests help in the understanding of topics. Our final exams will be held in November.” 

Ankit Kumar, IGIMS Patna 

Ankit Kumar studying at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Science (IGIMS), Patna, said, “I got admission to the IGIMS in December after my first round of counselling. We attended offline classes for around 46 days, i.e. from February 2 till March 20. After that the institute started online classes from April due to the increasing COVID-19 cases.” 

He said, “Though our syllabus remains the same, only the pattern and course timings changed. Due to delay in counselling and admissions, the National Medical Commission (NMC) reduced the course duration of first year from 14 months to 11 months. Also, the final exams that usually take place in September will now be held in January. The major drawback of online classes is the lack of practical exposure, which is an important part of our course. For instance, histology practical is not possible without a microscope and dissection of cadavers is also not possible online. The institute may be reopened after two weeks, only then we will be able to perform practicals.” 

Priyanka Priyadarshani, NMCH Patna 

Priyanka Priyadarshani, a first-year MBBS student at Nalanda Medical College & Hospital (NMCH), Patna, said, “I was allotted a seat in the NMCH during my first counselling in December. Our classes began in February and continued till March. After that, our institute started conducting online classes due to a surge in COVID cases.” 

She said, “There has been no reduction in syllabus. Only the duration of the academic year for first-year students has been reduced from 12 months to 10 months. Dissection cannot be done online due to which we are not able to get hands-on experience. I am waiting for the college to reopen so that I can study properly. Our syllabus will be over in December and final exams will take place in January.” 

EXPERT TALK 

Medicine has become theory-oriented rather than practical-oriented: Prof Dasari, GMCH-32 

Prof Dasari Harish, who teaches Forensic Medicine at the Government Medical College & Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh, said, “The pandemic had a bad impact on the education sector. The standard of education has gone down and the NEET date has been delayed due to which admissions will be affected and classes will also not be held on time. Though the NTA has announced that NEET will be conducted on August 1, the registration process has not yet started. There is uncertainty about whether the exam will be held or not. Nothing is clear right now. We are teaching competency-based curriculum to second prof and pre-final prof students wherein we have to make roasters for the whole year before the start of the year. But we could not follow the roaster as classes were held online. The course will be completed any way, but practical knowledge is zero. Medicine has become theory-oriented rather than practical-oriented.” 

He said, “The college was opened for two months, but we can’t teach the syllabus of one year in just two months. Though we have started offline MBBS classes, again it will depend on the pandemic. If the third wave comes, we will have to again shut the college.” 

Delayed academic session was challenging: Prof Shahin, AIIMS Kalyani 

Prof Shahin, who teaches anatomy at AIIMS Kalyani, said, “The 2020-21 academic session started very late due to which we had to face a lot of challenges. The session began in January, but then the second wave of the pandemic came and disrupted everything due to which we shifted to online classes. Transitioning from offline to online mode in terms of classes has its own challenges. We were asked to complete the syllabus in nine months. We have completed half of the syllabus and will be able to complete it by August-end or first week of September. For practicals, we have recorded videos and given them to students.” 

She said, “Even if NEET 2021 gets delayed, we will not be facing many issues this time as now we are aware of the intricacies involved in it.” 

We repeat classes for better online teaching: Prof Sabita Mishra, Maulana Azad Medical College 

Prof Sabita Mishra, who teaches anatomy at Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, said, “We have been taking online classes but teaching online has its own challenges. We are going all out to make our students understand the concepts. We regularly take feedback from our students and if they do not understand, we repeat classes. Practical classes are also taken online. There is no notice on when the college will be open.” 

She added, “If the academic cycle gets delayed due to the postponement of NEET, we have a back up plan. We are doing our bit to ensure students do not suffer academic loss.” 

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