After NEET-PG, NEET Super Speciality cut-off percentile reduced to ‘zero’ too. Here’s why

In September 2023, the NBEMS had already reduced the percentile to zero for postgraduate courses, allowing qualifying candidates to fill the vacant seats. This decision for NEET Super Speciality seats has been made due to the reported existence of hundreds of vacant super-speciality seats nationwide.

Also Read: Impact of ‘zero’ percentile for NEET-PG on the Indian medical community

The notice

Referring to the NEET-SS 2023 exam conducted on 29-30 September, with results declared on 15 October, the NBEMS specified the reduction in the qualifying percentile for a special round of NEET-SS 2023 counselling.

The notice stated, “The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, vide letter number U 12021/08/2023-MEC dated 20 January 2024, has allowed all candidates who have completed their PG degree as per NMC norms and have taken NEET-SS 2023 exam for the academic year 2023 to be ELIGIBLE to participate in the upcoming special round of NEET-SS counselling.”

However, NBEMS clarified that there is no change in the NEET-SS rank as declared in October 2023.

Speaking to South First, Dr Krishna Jyothi, a NEET Super Speciality candidate, said, “There was a significant delay in the NEET-SS 2023 exam held in September. Despite arriving at the exam centre by 7 am, the scheduled 9 am start was reportedly pushed beyond 11 am due to a technical error faced by the NBEMS. Many candidates faced this mismanagement and scored low.”

She added, “The early reporting time and delayed exam led to issues like anxiety, negatively impacting performance. Despite bringing this to their attention post-exam, no corrective measures were taken. Now, candidates who prepared diligently are grappling with low scores due to exam-day complications. This is a good move by the NBEMS.”

In India, super-speciality courses in the medical field, such as Doctorate of Medicine (DM) and Master of Chirurgiae (MCh), allow healthcare professionals to specialise in areas like Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, Neurosurgery, Urology, and Cardiovascular Thoracic Surgery. These programmes provide in-depth knowledge and training in specialised medical domains, typically spanning three years.

Also Read: All about NEET-PG ‘zero’ percentile and why it’s embroiled in political discussion

The second reduction

In a similar move for NEET-SS 2022, where eligibility criteria were adjusted, reducing it from the 50th percentile to the 20th percentile, the qualifying percentile for NEET-SS 2023 had also been lowered to address over 1,000 vacant super-speciality seats after the conclusion of two counselling rounds.

The Information Bulletin for NEET-SS 2023, issued in October 2023, initially stated that candidates achieving a score at or above the 50th percentile in their respective groups would be deemed qualified based on the minimum qualifying criteria. However, in December, following intervention by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and discussions with the National Medical Commission (NMC), the NBEMS was directed to lower the cut-off qualifying percentile for NEET-SS 2023 to the 20 percentile.

Despite this action, a significant number of super-speciality seats remained unoccupied. In response to this concern, doctors associated with the United Doctors’ Front Association (UDFA) recently appealed to the Union Health Ministry and the NMC to further lower the cut-off percentile for the NEET-SS Counselling 2023.

Additionally, the association called on the authorities to promptly announce the schedule for the mop-up or special round in order to fill all the remaining vacant seats. The impetus for this appeal came after NEET-SS 2023 aspirants, numbering over 400, wrote to the association, highlighting that numerous DM/MCH/DNB seats were still available following round 2 of the NEET-SS counselling.

In response to these appeals, the NBEMS officially declared that all students who have successfully completed their postgraduate degrees in accordance with NMC norms and participated in the NEET-SS 2023 examination will be considered eligible to participate in the upcoming special round of NEET-SS counselling.

#NEETSS aspirants are requesting @udfaindia as more than 400 SS seats remain vacant after R2 of #NEETSS counselling,we request @DghsIndia @NbeIndia @MoHFW_INDIA @NMC_IND to kindly Pl intervene & further reduce the #cutoff so that no superspeciality seat remains vacant this year pic.twitter.com/80YfJoodmn

— DR.LAKSHYA MITTAL (@drlakshyamittal) December 28, 2023

The problem with vacant seats

“Approximately 5,000 super-speciality seats are available. After the admission process concluded, roughly 1,000 seats are still unoccupied nationwide. The NEET-SS cut-off percentile tends to decrease each year because medical colleges offering super-speciality courses face financial setbacks,” President of the UDFA Dr Lakshya Mittal told South First.

He added that specialised branches like Plastic Surgery and Paediatrics often go without students, leading to unfilled seats, especially in private medical colleges where the annual course fee ranged from ₹1.5 crore to ₹2.5 crore.

“Private institutions running these super-speciality courses must fill all approved seats to cover significant faculty fees and sustain their operations. Failing to do so makes it challenging for them to maintain their institutions, prompting them to advocate for a reduction in the NEET-SS cut-off criteria, a demand the government tends to accept in response,” said Dr Mittal.

The concern over vacant medical seats extends beyond super-speciality fields, with a persistent issue observed over the past few years. In July 2023, Union Minister Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar shared data in the Parliament indicating that 860 MBBS and 12,758 PG medical seats lay vacant in the last three years.

This year, over 2,000 MBBS seats remained unfilled despite multiple counselling rounds, leading the Union Health Ministry to seek a Supreme Court extension to avoid wasting valuable medical seats. The efforts continued for PG medical seats, as the Ministry reduced NEET-PG cut-off percentiles to zero to minimise vacancies. Nevertheless, 2,962 MD/MS/PG Diploma seats remained vacant in the NEET-PG stray vacancy round.

Last year in April, expressing concern over the unoccupied seats in super-speciality medical colleges nationwide, the Supreme Court, led by Justices BR Gavai and Pankaj Mittal, addressed a batch pleas of students challenging restrictive rules.

These rules prevent students from changing courses once enrolled, imposing heavy penalties on doctors. The court emphasised the contradiction between aspiring for top-notch healthcare and facing vacant doctor positions.