To draw more doctors to the fight against COVID-19, the Supreme Court on Thursday suggested offering grace marks in NEET-PG 2021. Over 1.5 lakh doctors have registered for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG), which had earlier been postponed and will not be conducted before August 31. The top court suggested incentivizing doctors appointed in COVID duty with grace marks instead of money. “People won’t stir out in these COVID times otherwise,” the court said.
The bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah was considering the Centre’s SLP (Special Leave Petition) against the Delhi High Court’s contempt notice to its officials for failing to secure a supply of 700 MT of oxygen to Delhi.
“There are 1.5 lakh doctors waiting to appear in the NEET who have completed the medical course and their internship. There are some 2.5 lakh nurses who are now fully trained. They can be involved in the COVID workforce. But if you give them 15-25,000 rupees, nobody would come. How can you make Covid service attractive to them? This can bolster your infrastructure for the third surge”, Justice Chandrachud said.
There could also be incentives in the form of grace marks to NEET PG students involved in the COVID workforce, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta responded.
To increase the availability of medical personnel for COVID duty, the government had earlier postponed the NEET PG and the exam will be scheduled only after August 31 and students will be notified at least one month in advance, SG Mehta informed the court.
The centre has urged the state and union territory governments to reach out to NEET candidates and request them to join the COVID-19 workforce, SG Mehta pointed out in his note.
After perusing the note, Justice Chandrachud remarked: “The most important thing is missing here…incentive in the form of grace marks in the NEET PG course. Money won’t help. People won’t stir out in these COVID times otherwise”. SG Tushar Mehta assured the court that the suggestion will be conveyed to the government.