Explainer: NEET PG cut-off percentile reduced to zero! What does this mean?

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education Policy has announced that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) PG 2023 cut-off percentile has been dropped to zero across categories. This means that the candidates of any category do not have to obtain a minmum percentile to be eligible for NEET PG counselling. Candidates who have appeared for the medical entrance test for postgraduate admissions can register for the counselling. 

NEET PG qualifying percentile reduced to Zero: What does this mean?

The National Board of Examinations (NBE) has made a ground-breaking announcement on the qualifying percentile for NEET PG 2023, creating new opportunities for medical aspirants across India. This move has received a lot of attention because it differs from the conventional method for medical admissions. There is no cutoff for any category. The abolition of any qualifying percentile cutoff for all student groups is one of the biggest improvements. To be eligible for NEET PG counselling, candidates who have appeared for the NEET PG from the General, OBC, SC, ST, and EWS categories would no longer need to obtain a minimum percentile. With this action, the field of medical education will be made more inclusive and conducive to equal opportunity. The decision has been taken after observing that various medical postgraduate seats remained vacant due to high cut-off mark. 

However, a section of medical fraternity has objected against the move as this will lead to a degraded quality of medical practitioners as candidates who score lesser mark will also be able to take admission to PG medical seats. 

"It is nothing but a mockery of education. Government spends so much money to conduct NEET PG entrance exam and declare the results. Now the candidates who even score a zero mark in entrance exam will be able to pursue PG medical exam and become an expert doctor just because they have money to pay to private medical colleges for admissions," said Dr Amulya  Singh, orthopedic surgeon , Akshat Seva Sadan, Patna.

"I feel we need best mind so far as specialization in Medical World is concerned as it deals with life and death of patients. Bringing cutoff to zero percentile will definitely effect the quality health care," said Dr Diwakar Tejaswi, Physician, Patna.

Indian Medical Association (IMA) in its official release praised the decision and said, "We had requested the honourable health minister and NMC for the reduction of cutoff as the seats in the medical colleges were staying vacant leading to wastage of valuable national resouces. Due to high percentile for the admission to various PG courses in the medical colleges many deserving students were not able to join PG seats which were vacant."

However, some educationalists belive that candidates who take admission to PG medical courses will ultimately get the proper education and training to become an expert doctor. Candidates who are not capable of becoming a good doctor even after attending the classes and will ultimately fail the university exams. Only those who study hard and attain good knowledge of medicine will be able to become the expert doctors after passing the final university exams. Mere taking admission to PG courses is not a gateway to becoming a doctor. 

"The decision to lower the qualifying percentiles for the NEET PG 2023 exam is a historic one that has the potential to completely alter the landscape of medical education in India. The announcement will not affect the career of any students since it still depends on the merit basis. With this, the vacant seats will no go in vain and the students that are still practicing will get the chance to come in the front field professionally. It seeks to lessen the stress level and advance diversity in the medical industry by doing away with cutoffs. To ensure a balance between accessibility and competence in medical education, authorities will need to monitor and adjust to the situation since its long-term effects on the quality of medical education are still up for debate," Anubhav Garg, Counselor and founder of Tab India said.

The Tamil Nadu Youth Welfare Minister in a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday said, "The Centre reducing the qualifying percentile for NEET PG 2023 to be eligible for counselling to zero has exposed the conspiracy of the national test. The question among students and parents is about the very need for the test when the Union government says that post graduate courses in medicine could be pursued just by appearing in NEET, after harping on the so-called eligibility. This development has proven his party's stand that NEET is an arrangement to make prosperous the coaching centres and private medical colleges.

NEET PG round 3 counselling window reopens

Moreover, Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has reopened the registration and choice filling window for the third round of NEET PG counselling for candidates who have become eligible after reduction of qualifying percentile. "Candidates who have become freshly eligible can register and participate in Round-3 of counselling. The candidates who are already registered need not register again. However, they will be allowed to edit their choices. A fresh schedule for Round-3 onwards for PG Counselling will be put up on MCC website soon. Candidates are advised to be in touch with MCC website for further updates," the official notice reads.