Decision to drop NEET PG 2023 cut-off to 0 will lower medical education quality; doctors demand withdrawal

NEW DELHI: A doctors’ body has urged the National Medical Commission (NMC) to withdraw the decision reducing National Eligibility Entrance Test for Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2023 cut-off to zero citing that it will reduce the quality of medical education in the country.

Taking “serious note” of the decision, the Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) argued that the reason behind postgraduate medical seats going vacant every year is not the qualifying cut-off but the high fee structure in the private medical colleges. The association mentioned that 9,700 PG seats went reportedly vacant in the last three years.

“The reason given is that these seats lie vacant because of cut off for the entrance, which was only 20%. This contention is not correct. In fact many students cannot get admission in the private colleges because of high fee structure,” IDPD stated.

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The association worried that with the NEET PG revised cut off 2023, students coming from wealthy backgrounds will get PG medical seats even if they do not have good scores.

IDPD found it ironical that the number of private medical colleges has become nearly equal to the government medical colleges and they are charging very high medical fees. It assested that many of these private colleges have a poor infrastructure. Demanding attention on the infrastructure, IDPD said, Mushrooming of new colleges should be stopped and instead infrastructure should be strengthened in the existing colleges.”

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The doctors’ body believes that while the government has introduced the National Exit Test (NExT) for final-year MBBS students to cope up with the quality issue, it has “washed off” its hands on quality control with its decision on NEET PG cut off leaving everything on the students.

“It is imperative that highest level of quality education is provided in the medical colleges both at the Post Graduate and Under Graduate level. This decision will adversely affect the quality in the name of filling the seats. Hence it should be withdrawn,” IDPD lastly said.