Lower cutoff for NEET PG Mop-Up Round: Doctors move NMC

Already the counselling for the mop-up round has begun and that is why, FAIMA has now approached NMC, the apex decision making body in this matter.

Referring to high cutoff marks for the NEET PG 2021, the association mentioned in the letter, "The current cutoff marks for NEET PG 2021 for the unreserved category (UR) are 302, for the reserved categories of people with disabilities, the cutoff marks are 283. After the unprecedented delay in the NEET-PG 2021 counselling process, almost an entire academic year has been wasted, and now a high cutoff score means that medical students who fail to meet the cutoff criteria, will not be able to enter medical colleges, thereby causing these seats to go vacant and wasting one more precious year of their lives for the preparation of the next NEET-PG exam."

Mentioning that higher cut-off marks results in numerous vacant seats in different specialties, the letter pointed out,"As a result of high cutoff scores, aspiring medical students will not only be prevented from entering postgraduation but will also be compelled to travel overseas to pursue their dream field of postgraduation, further depleting the medical manpower pool in India.We cannot afford to lose these precious gems in such a time when the country needs a full-blown medical army to protect citizens from upcoming variants of COVID or any other epidemic that may occur. We have already lost the life of one aspiring Indian doctor in Russia-Ukraine War and the lives of many are still on the stake."

Also Read:Revision of Cutoff in NEET PG 2021 Counselling: FAIMA Resubmits letter to Health Ministry

"We should not forget that during previous COVID waves, when the country was in the state of emergency and people were dying, these doctors left their homes and served the nation fervently. The time has come for the administration to recognize them for their selfless service by reducing the cutoff marks for NEET-PG 2021. This will ensure that a significant number of MBBS students can enroll for postgraduate programs in various medical colleges across the country and not a single postgraduate seat goes vacant," it added.

Requesting the NMC to look into the matter at the earliest, the association further mentioned, "We urge the concerned authorities to look into this matter as early as possible and take immediate steps to resolve it and help the country acquire more specialist doctors. The safety and well-being of the people of our country hinges on you ensuring that adequate medical staff is available so that there is no shortage of human resources within the medical profession. We hope the higher officials at NMC take urgent action in this matter."

"By making the right decision, the administration can make the lives of many aspiring and hardworking doctors worthwhile, which will ultimately benefit the nation in the long run. By refusing to reduce cutoff scores, the administration will not only ruin the careers of thousands of hardworking doctors wishing to serve the nation but will also negatively impact the medical fraternity by leaving many seats vacant in postgraduate courses. This can result in a serious deficiency of specialist doctors in India. Hoping for an early intervention in this matter from the concerned officials to safeguard the country's precious medical force!" it read further.

Speaking to Medical Dialogues regarding the matter, Dr. Rohan Krishnan, the president of FAIMA said, "the counselling for the mop-up round has already begun and because of the high cut-off marks, hardly 500 students will take part in it. Those students who are eligible have already taken admission to their preferred specialties."

"The main agenda for conducting a mop-up counselling is to fill in the vacant seats and ensure admission to those who couldn't secure a seat in the previous rounds. March 7 is the last date, unless NMC intervenes, several seats will remain vacant and this will further delay the whole process," he added.

He also informed that the NBE is also in the favour of reducing the cut-off. However, as NMC is the apex authority, the final call has to be taken by the Commission only.

The association had earlier approached the Union Health Ministry and had requested the authorities to revise the cut-off criteria for the NEET PG 2021 counselling.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that responding to the representation, the Union Health Ministry had forwarded the matter to the Executive Director of the National Board of Examinations (NBE).