The MBBS examinations for the second and third year students are starting from 10 June via offline mode in Maharashtra. However, students are not happy with the decision and are demanding that the exams should be conducted online.
The medical students across the state surveyed their cohort of 5,000 as the authorities have scheduled their second and third-year MBBS examinations in the offline mode.
Numerous requests from the Association of State Medical Students Maharashtra have fallen on deaf ears, claim the students. In a bid to put their point across, they conducted a survey and presented its results to the authorities only to be met with further disappointment.
According to the survey, which was responded to by 4,622 students, over 50% of them have either themselves tested positive for Covid-19, been in contact with someone or are positive and asymptomatic.
Second- and third-year MBBS exams, which usually take place between December to January, were postponed three times this year due to the rising Covid-19 cases recorded across the state. When asked about their opinion on the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) exams, 65.2% of the respondents stated that they wished to be promoted without examination, while 51.1% said they would want the exams to be conducted online with strict invigilation.
In a series of online petitions and letters addressed to the state government as well as officials at the Maharashtra MUHS, students have highlighted that offline exams could prove dangerous for staff as well as students who will participate in the examination process.
Some states have postponed the exams indefinitely and have allowed the students to continue studying for their next year. “When we spoke to the authorities, they told us that these are serious exams and cannot be taken online. We have already wasted six months as the exams which are usually held at the end of November have still not been conducted. We should be allowed to continue studying and if necessary, take the exams once the pandemic is over. There will be multiple filters ahead for us as this is not our final year, even if the exams are not conducted at all,” a student explained.
In the multiple letters written to MUHS, the association has demanded that the exams should be conducted online for the safety of the students or that they all should be promoted so that they do not waste an entire academic year. Constant delay or postponement of exams has created problems for students.
Further to this, several students come from other states and live in hostels wherein they have common spaces like the library, canteen and other spaces. This considerably increases the risk of contracting Covid-19 as well. If one gets Covid positive then others will have to quarantine themselves which is not a good idea. That is a lot of travelling in these times, especially where public transport is not an option. Most of the students rely on public transport to commute.
“In addition to this, several students come from other states which are currently under lockdown. At least 96.3% of the respondents said that they were currently under lockdown and further 70.6% of the 4,622 respondents will have to travel to another city for their exams,” claimed another student.
In a previous circular, the National Medical Commission (NMC) had clarified that in case students are unable to appear for their MBBS exams due to their health status or travel restrictions, those students will be given the chance to appear for these papers at a later date by the examination authority.