Medicos oppose post-graduate medical entrance test

Medicos oppose post-graduate medical entrance test

REPORT IN TIMES OF INDIA

KANPUR: The medical students all across the state are protesting against the state-level entrance examination for post-graduate seats which is know as UPPGME. The interns and PG students of Ganesh Shanker Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College (GSVM) also joined the strike on Monday. The strike was called off after the intervention of senior GSVM authorities but the students still feel that conducting a separate examination is unfair.

The students said that there is no point in holding a state-level examination again when the government has agreed to allot postgraduate seats through the scores obtained in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The students are demanding cancellation of UPPGMEE on the grounds that they had already taken NEET. "Since both had a similar aim, there was no point taking the other and waste the efforts and money of the students," said an intern at GSVM.

Another intern stated that the pattern of national eligibility and entrance test and UPPGMEE were different. They cannot prepare for UPPGMEE in the short time span given by the organizers.

"The NEET examination was held in November and after at that the government showed no mood to organized UPPGME. The declaration of conducting UPPGME came in second week of February and the examination is on March 31. We got only 40 days to prepare for UPPGMEE which is too short, considering we have to prepare 20 subjects," he added.

The PG students also questioned why UP government was adamant to hold UPPGMEE when it has already given its consent to admit students on the basis of NEET scores in December last year.

"The order of the apex court will be valid for the entire country. So, why does UP want to become an exception by holding PGME examination," said a student.

NEET is the result of Medical Council of India's recommendation to hold a common entrance examination. Proposed in 1997, NEET became a reality in 2011. It landed into litigation because several state governments and private colleges opposed it.
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100-odd intern doctors held in Lucknow

100-odd intern doctors held in Lucknow

REPORT CAME IN INDIAN EXPRESS

Protest against UPPGMEE Govt cites breach of peace against fasting students.

More than 100 intern doctors who were protesting in front of King George Medical University against the Uttar Pradesh Post Graduate Entrance Examination (UPPGMEE) were arrested late on Monday night.

The students — aspirants of postgraduate studies in medical science, many of whom are from medical colleges in Kanpur, Allahabad and Meerut — had boycotted emergency duties and joined the protest against the UPPGMEE, scheduled to be held on March 31. The protest had been going on for the past six days.

SP (West) Ajay Kumar said that more than 100 students had been arrested for breach of peace. "As of now, they have been kept in Lucknow Reserve Police Lines. A decision on whether they would be detained or released will be taken by the district administration," he said.

Seven of the protesting students, whose health condition had deteriorated due to the hunger strike, were admitted in Ram Manohar Lohia Combined Hospital, Lucknow, late on Sunday night. However, all seven left the hospital on Monday against medical advice, said Dr Ratish Agarwal, Chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital.

"They were admitted late last night and put on saline. However, they left the hospital against medical advice. They were in stable condition when they left. The police have been informed," said Dr Agarwal.

The protesting students have, in their latest memorandum to the government, said that if the government is not ready to cancel the examination, they can at least postpone it till the Supreme Court gives its final orders on National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

The students have been demanding cancellation of UPPGMEE and admission in postgraduate seats of state medical colleges through NEET, which was held in November-December 2012 at all-India level. The state had declared UPPGMEE as per the directions of the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case regarding NEET. The apex court has withheld the results of NEET and asked the states to continue with the procedure of postgraduate admission but hold the results till the court's final decision.

The students had met Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday, who had asked the students to give their detailed memorandum to the District Magistrate of Lucknow. "We submitted our memorandum on Sunday evening and said we will end our hunger strike if the government at least postpones the examination till the Supreme Court gives its final verdict on NEET," said Mohit Singh, one of the students who met the CM. However, the government, though requesting the students to end the strike, is yet to decide on the matter.

The Uttar Pradesh chapter of the Indian Medical Association and Uttar Pradesh Provincial Medical Services Association have extended moral support to the protesting students.

Emergency services at various hospitals were reportedly seriously hampered due to the interns' absence. "The OPD was boycotted today and emergency services were closed in the evening," said Vineet Singh, an intern doctor from Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad.

The government maintained that there was no state-wide protest of doctors and emergency services were not affected. "Although some interns boycotted work for a few hours, we have yet not received any news from medical colleges regarding mass boycott," said K K Gupta, Director General, Medical Education, Uttar Pradesh

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75 medicos into custody

THIS IS THE REPORT THAT CAME IN TIMES OF INDIA TODAY..75 MEDICOS WHO ARE ON STRIKE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY..READ THE FULL NEWS HERE..

LUCKNOW: Medical graduates from King George's Medical University (KGMU), opposing the UP Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examwere taken into police custody late Monday evening after senior administrative officials failed to convince them to call off their strike. Later, more than 75 students, including 14 who were fasting for the last six days, were detained at the police lines.

The administrative officials had made similar attempt at around Sunday midnight. Medical students sitting on hunger strike were admitted forcibly to the Balrampur Hospital by a team from the district administration. At the government hospitals, the doctors and staff tried to administer the students a glucose and normal saline. Though the hospital staff managed to give them normal saline solution, the students refused to take glucose as it would have broken their fast. By Monday morning, the medicos signed LAMA (leave against medical advice) application and left the hospital to join their fellows outside KGMU.

The students were staging a demonstration outside KGMU campus for the last six days. The students maintained that UPPGMEE was redundant as they had taken the national eligibility cum entrance test (NEET). Unfortunately, NEET was stuck in litigation and had it not for the pendency of the petition in the Supreme Court, there was no need to hold UPPGMEE. The students also stated that since UP had agreed to admit students through NEET, the state exam would be an additional burden on them. Therefore, they demanded cancellation of the exam.

However, after meeting chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Sunday morning, students softened their stand a bit. Instead of demanding cancellation of the exam, they asked the government to postpone UPPGMEE till the Supreme Court verdict was out. "When the authorities told us that they cannot cancel the exam, we said they can at least postpone it," said Kapil Singh Verma, who is heading the group of protesting students. Officials in the medical education department informed that students noted a list of apprehensions which were brought by officials from the district administration. "We answered most of the questions point-wise," said Dr KK Gupta, director general medical education.

All through the day several rounds of talks between student leaders and officials of the Lucknow district administration including district magistrate Anurag Yadav continued but the parties failed to reach a consensus. Sources said pressure on district administrative officials to end the strike was increasing with each passing hour. The strike was giving the opposition a chance to corner the state government. Politicians from Congress and Bhartiya Janata Party ( BJP) had already met the students and were voicing their demands. Government doctors who examined the students sitting on hunger strike stated that the condition of some of the students was turning critical. Accordingly, they recommended that the students should either be hospitalised immediately or officials feed them forcibly to avoid any untoward incident.

Meanwhile, the striking medicos in the city were joined by their counterparts in Kanpur and Allahabad medical colleges even as support poured for the medicos from different quarters. Government doctors' body -UP Provincial Medical Services Association-and KGMU Teachers' Association have also extended support to the striking students. "The demand of the students is genuine," said president of PMS association. Dr Sanjay Khhatri, of the KGMU Teachers' Association said, "Over 2,600 of the 3,500-odd students who took NEET signed the letter of demand. The government cannot ignore them." The Indian Medical Association was in fact the first to support the students.

The flash strike by medicos in Allahabad and Kanpur caused problems for the patients as many of them were caught unawares. For example in Kanpur, students disrupted the emergency services and forcibly shut the out patient department at Lala Lajpat Rai Hospital (LLR) at 11.30am much before the usual closing time.
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