Zero bar: Centre's shock move lets candidates with negative marks grab PG medical seats
New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): To fill thousands of vacant medical PG seats in the country, the Central Government and the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) have taken a decision that has surprised the medical world. The qualifying cutoff for NEET PG 2025 has been reduced to a historic low. The situation is such that this cutoff has now been reduced to zero percentile for reserved categories. This simply means that even candidates scoring minus 40 marks in the exam will now be considered eligible to obtain degrees like MD and MS.
18,000 seats are vacant, hence the standard has been lowered
In fact, even after two rounds of NEET PG counselling have been completed, more than 18,000 PG seats in government and private medical colleges remain vacant. This step has been taken on the instructions of the Union Health Ministry to fill these seats. According to the revised rules, the cutoff for General and EWS candidates has been reduced from 50 percentile to 7 percentile. In terms of marks, while earlier it was necessary to score 276 out of 800, now even those scoring just 103 will be considered eligible. Meanwhile, the cutoff for the differently-abled category (PwBD) has been reduced from 45 to 5 percentile.
Those who score minus 40 marks will also be able to take admission
The biggest change has been made for the reserved categories (SC, ST, and OBC). The percentile for these categories has been reduced from 40 to zero (0). This technically means that even if a student scores minus 40 (-40) out of 800 on the NEET PG exam, they will still be eligible to participate in the third round of counseling and gain admission. Previously, the cutoff score for these categories was 235. In simple terms, any candidate from a reserved category who has taken the exam is now eligible for a seat.
Experts raise questions: 'Even someone who falls asleep during an exam is now equal to a topper'
This government decision has sparked strong opposition within the medical community. Experts say it will drastically lower the standard of medical education. Health activist Dr. Dhruv Chauhan sarcastically said that lowering the cutoff to zero will benefit not qualified doctors, but private medical colleges, which will be able to sell their seats for crores. He said that if you have money, even if you sleep during the exam and score negative marks, you are equal to a student who has worked hard day and night.
Allegations of benefiting private colleges
Dr. Meet Gonia has also questioned this decision, calling it a concern for the standard of Indian medical education. People are also criticizing this decision on social media. Users say that seat availability will now depend not on merit, but on money. It should be noted that earlier in 2023, the Ministry of Health had reduced the qualifying percentile for filling seats to zero, which also caused considerable controversy.