Year ender 2023-  NEET PG eligibility criteria to lower to zero or not to lower! 

Year ender 2023:  NEET PG eligibility criteria to lower to zero or not to lower! 

It has been a roller coaster ride for medical students and the education system in India. What’s more, perhaps the ordeal may continue if the previous year’s (2023) format is followed, which saw the lowering of the eligibility criteria to zero percentile for NEET PG and PG Diploma courses and if not, even then challenges will remain galore. “Top-performing students from the open category will be deprived of opportunities, potentially exacerbating the commercialisation of medical seats, particularly in private colleges,” a senior medical professor, on the condition of anonymity told FE Education.

Last year, the Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) reduced the eligibility to zero percentile in its efforts to fill a large number of vacant seats at the postgraduate level. The reasons behind this move at the time included shortage of eligible candidates, rigorous selection criteria, uneven allocation of seats across regions and insufficient awareness about available opportunities, among others. Interestingly, industry experts point out that there are ways of filling vacant seats and this includes proactive dissemination of information about seat availability. Besides ensuring an equitable distribution of seats across regions.. “This is demotivation for high-scoring students. The removal of an eligibility barrier might discourage high-scoring candidates from putting in the same level of effort in future NEET PG exams, potentially affecting their preparation and competitive edge,” Dr. Umar, Surgeon, JJ Hospital, Mumbai, said.

Furthermore, it is believed that students too faced their set of challenges despite scoring decent numbers. “In the NEET PG exam of the last academic year, despite having a good ranking at the All-India level, I was not eligible to secure a seat at a government college, but I was forced to find a seat in a private institution. Surprisingly, students with significantly lower ranks than mine managed to secure seats in private colleges, while I couldn’t due to the exorbitant fees demanded, which amounted to crores. I prefer not to specify any particular college in this context,” Shaikh Junaid, who completed his MBBS between 2017 to 2023 from one of the colleges in Maharashtra, shared his experience.

Furthermore, the other aspect of this particular issue is the possible roll out of the older criteria (2022) . For experts the earlier pattern of minimum qualification was an essential practice in higher medical education in India, as it aimed to avoid the entry of unqualified students into critical medical fields such as surgery and cardiology. “The government and decision-making bodies should consider continuing the previous pattern. It will protect the credibility of Indian doctors at both the national and international levels. Also, it is essential in maintaining the higher quality of healthcare and medical practices in India,” a senior professor said on the condition of anonymity.

When it comes to students, experts suggest that returning to the older criteria is necessary to create healthy competition besides avoiding the potential risk of the commercialisation of medical education in India. “If the earlier criteria continued, it would help in spreading healthy competition among students. Students from all backgrounds can equally participate in the competition and there will be no injustice to the meritorious students who come from economically weak backgrounds,” Dr. Hussain Zubairi, professor, IIMSR, said.

Interestingly, amidst all this there is a set of experts who believe that even if the same criteria as last year is rolled out, there will be little or no difference. “Allowing admissions to students with zero percentile is unfair to high-ranking students, but it will not necessarily undermine the overall quality of healthcare in India, as the students have rigorously prepared during their graduate studies and there is a chance they will become more experienced after post-graduation,” Zubairi added.