NEET PG 2023 Cutoff Revised to Zero Percentile: Applicants Increase But Quality Compromised

NEET PG 2023 Revised Cutoff: To avoid PG Medical seats from going vacant, the Central Government of India has reduced the NEET PG Cutoffs to zero percentile. The zero percentile cutoff will enable all medical graduates, irrespective of their scores and categories, to participate in the NEET PG Counselling process for super-speciality medical courses this year.
The Health Ministry released the NEET PG 2023 revised cutoff to ensure no PG seats go vacant. Each year, over 2,000 to 2,500 PG seats go vacant across the country. This surely will provide an exciting opportunity for Medical PG aspirants to pursue their postgraduation dream. Still, experts across the country are worried about the quality of the super-speciality doctors who will be the outcome of this bizarre NEET PG revised cutoff 2023.

NEET PG 2023 Revised Cutoff: Boon or Bane?

Experts and PG aspirants across the country have shared their opinions on the revised NEET PG cutoffs. Anuj Goyal, co-founder of Get My University (GetMyUni), feels that “The zero cutoff criterion has not solved the purpose. It has given a bad name to the education system”.

Reacting to the same, Anuj Goyal further stated, “The new cutoff relaxation has even made the aspirants with zero percentile or even with negative marks to be eligible to opt for super-speciality courses. The underlying reason for the vacant seats is the exorbitant fees that are demanded by private medical colleges, which the middle-class meritorious student cannot afford. Medical colleges get an opportunity to delve into a bidding process”.

Dr Somashekhar SP, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board, GCC & India, shared his views on the NEET PG 2023 revised cutoff and stated, “The allocation of postgraduate medical seats in India is a multifaceted process that seeks to balance merit-based selection, candidates’ preferences, seat availability, and reservations, all of which influence the outcome of seat distribution in this highly competitive field of education”.

In the view of Dr Somashekhar SP, the NEET PG 2023 revised cutoff will intimidate aspirants to opt for less popular courses like MD Radiology, MD Dermatology, MD Paediatrics, and MD General Medicine. The seats to such non-surgical courses can be given to the aspirants with lesser NEET PG scores, which in return will fill in all the vacant seats.

Furthermore, Dr Somashekhar SP is also of the opinion that “The reduction in percentile has partly resolved the seat vacancy issue but at the cost of quality and merit.”  

NEET PG 2023 Revised Cutoff: Impacts

Since the introduction of the NEET PG 2023 Revised Cutoffs, there has been a significant rise in admissions to private medical colleges. Aspirants are paying a hefty fee to secure seats at private medical institutions. This initiative has saved the PG seats from going vacant. The less popular non-clinical speciality courses are also filling up in the Government and private institutes, which is serving the purpose of the NEET PG 2023 revised cutoffs.

The revised NEET PG 2023 cutoff has received mixed opinions from aspirants and experts. Medical PG aspirants can now get admission to their desired courses even with their lesser NEET PG scores, which may look like a great initiative, but what about the quality of the doctors who secured seats because of the NEET PG 2023 revised cutoff? Will they be of any quality in future?