Medical students stare at losing a year as Covid hits classes in Telangana

HYDERABAD: Medical and dental students in Telangana are now staring at a delay of almost a year in completing their course, courtesy the Covid-19 outbreak.
There are close to 10,000 medical and 5,000 dental students in Telangana. All the batches are staring at a possibility of losing a year. Many students rue that they have not appeared for a single examination for the last 8-15 months now, thus throwing the academic cycle completely out of gear.

"Technically, my batch should have been in third year by now. But we are stuck in second year, syllabus of which is not even half complete. The Covid-19 pandemic has pushed us back by almost a year and we are not even sure when the next set of exams will be held," said Sai Nath, a student of Gandhi Medical College.
The AYUSH students have not appeared for a single exam in the last 15 months, thereby delaying the completion of their undergraduate course.
"Our last exam was held in November 2020. After that our exam was postponed for two to three times due to bad weather conditions and Covid-19 cases. We have already wasted a year due to the delay and if this continues I wonder when I'd complete my course," said Akhila, a student of Gandhi Nature Cure College.
Lack of clarity on the academic schedule has also added to students' troubles.
"Our first year exams which should have been held by early 2021 was held in May. In comparison, other states such as Andhra Pradesh completed the examinations by January, 2021. We are informed about our exams only 20-30 days in advance," said Mohan Dharavath, a student of Osmania Medical College (OMC).
It has also put a spanner in their plans to pursue post-graduation and internships as well, students said.
"If exams are delayed further, we won't be able to pursue our internships on time, thereby delaying the prospects of appearing for NEET-PG. We will not get sufficient time in our postings which may also affect our learning levels," said Sai Dinesh Reddy, a third year medical student of OMC.
Officials at the Kaloji Narayana University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) admit to the delay and said that colleges are now rushing through the syllabus to allow eligible students to appear for NEET in 2023.
"Every course is running behind by a few months. We are under immense pressure to complete the syllabus and complete the exams on time as there are regulations for each course. Even when exams are held, we have to ensure there is sufficient gap between all the exams so that students are not stressed," said Karunaker Reddy, vice-chancellor of KNRUHS.