Hyderabad: Telangana NEET PG 2024-eligible students are in turmoil as the state counseling process for postgraduate medical seats is yet to begin, while two rounds of All India Quota (AIQ) counseling have ended, with the third round set to begin on December 27.
Students are urging the authorities to start state-level counseling before the start of the third AIQ round, fearing that they will lose seats in both.
“It’s a do-or-die situation for students,” said Dr Tarun Kumar, a NEET PG aspirant. “Usually, both AIQ and state counseling are held simultaneously. However, state counseling could not start this year due to local level issues. Telangana students don’t even know their position within the state as merit list is not released.
“This has left some students stuck in AIQ seats from Round 2 with the last date of resignation on December 26. The state counseling process should begin immediately so that students can make informed decisions about their preferences,” explained Dr Kumar.
Many students with AIQ seats (covering 50 percent of total seats) are resigning in hope of getting better options in state counselling. However, this uncertainty has made the students sad. Not all students secure seats through AIQ, and even those who do often fall short of their preferences in branches or colleges.
“It is important for students to have access to state merit lists to take these critical decisions,” Dr Kumar added.
Students expressed dismay at being forced to compromise on their preferred branches or move away from their hometowns due to delays in state counselling. ‘This situation could have been avoided if the merit list of the state had been published on time,’ a student complained.
“It is heartbreaking for students who have spent one, two or three years preparing for NEET PG 2024,” said another student. “We have endured endless stress about postponing exams and preponing rumours, and now we are stuck in limbo in the counseling process. It is incredibly frustrating.”
The students highlighted that starting state counseling after AIQ Round 3 would be a grave injustice to Telangana aspirants. “All of us have already paid `25,000 as security deposit for AIQ Round 2 counselling. If we resign our seats here, we will have to pay again for Round 3. For state counselling, we have paid `5,000 at the time of registration,” said Dr Kumar.
The students are demanding immediate action from the Kaloji Narayan Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) and the Telangana government to speed up the process.
“We request KNRUHS to release the state merit list and conduct the first phase of state counseling without further delay. Further, we request the Medical Council Commission to extend the deadline for resignation for AIQ round 2 and postpone AIQ round 3 to ensure fairness, Dr. Kumar said.
Highlighting the urgency of the matter, NEET PG aspirant Vamsi MS said, “The academic year 2024-25 has already started from December 20 in other states. Telangana must act soon to avoid jeopardizing the future of 8,000 students of the state.”