To,
The Hon’ Chief Minister of Maharashtra

SUMMER MEDICAL EXAMS 2020

Respected Sir,
I am a non-final year medical student residing in Pune.

In accordance with the ongoing situation of Covid-19 in India and Maharashtra, and the decision of conducting medical exams for all years, I have a few points which I request you to take into consideration:

Covid-19 related

1. Being a resident of Pune it is very risky to get out of the house with the increasing number of cases. In such situations we are being asked to give our exams with many students at the same centre which poses huge risks to our health.
2. Students will also be travelling from other cities in order to appear for the exams. As no specific home quarantine period has been declared for travellers from outside, there’s a risk of getting in contact with carriers, despite taking precautionary measures.
3. Some students live in societies/areas which have been sealed. With students coming to the exam centres from so many different area, there is no guarantee of complete protection from getting infected.
4. Some students also live with parents or relatives who are above 50-60 years of age and can cause a threat to their life in the presence of co-morbidities, complications and mortalities.
5. Cost of the treatment is also very high. Even though a proposal of medical insurance of 5 lakh rupees is given to students, the families or others that may get affected because of the students, they won’t be able to cover for the treatments.

Exam related

1. The exam timetable published by MUHS (stating exams would begin on 16th July 2020) is now said to be temporary. This has put a lot of pressure resulting into stress and anxiety amongst the students. Studying in such a situation is difficult, and can also lead to extreme measures by students.
2. Also, because the exam time-table has been set such that there won’t be any gap between papers, has put us under pressure. Even though the exams are in the same city travel will take up most of our time.
3. The situations everywhere are not mentally healthy for us to study.
4. Students from different towns who stay away from home, left with no exam related material to go back home during the lockdown. It is very difficult for these students to study without the necessary exam material.

Sir, kindly consider all of these points in making the necessary decisions. Thanking you in anticipation.

Warm Regards,
A Medical Student