Lowering NEET PG Cut-off Percentile Will Not Impact Quality of Medical Education: NMC Secretary
NEET PG Cut-off Percentile
New Delhi: Amid the ongoing debate and differing opinions concerning the reduction of the cut-off percentile for the National Eligibility-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) examination, the National Medical Commission (NMC) recently assured that lowering the percentile would not impact the quality of medical professionals, Education Times has reported.
While a section of the medical fraternity has expressed their doubts that lower percentile may compromise the quality of medical professionals and benefit private institutes by allowing them to fill their seats and earn profits by granting admission to underqualified aspirants, NMC has said that the decision to lower the cut-off has been taken to increase the number of practicing resident doctors and reduce the stress faced by the resident doctors due to huge workloads.
However, the Apex Medical Commission has refuted these claims, clarifying that apart from increasing the number of practicing resident doctors, the move also seeks to address the issue of seat wastage in non-clinical medical specialisations such as Pharmacology, Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, and Microbiology.
Also Read: NEET PG Cut-off Reduction Helpful or Matter of Concern? Here's What the Doctors Say
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that recently the Central Government announced its decision to reduce the cut-off for PG medical aspirants to the 15th percentile for General /EWS candidates and the 10th percentile for SC/ST/OBC/PwD candidates.
Following this, several NEET-PG aspirants and members of the medical fraternity termed this decision as "irrational". Commenting on the matter, the Chief Patron of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) Dr. Rohan Krishnan had said that continuous reduction of the NEET PG percentile is not a good option for the Government as it would be equivalent to playing with the merits of the students. As an alternative, he suggested reducing the fees for the PG medical courses in private medical colleges.
However, amid the criticism regarding the Government's decision to reduce the NEET-PG cut-off percentile, NMC has defended its decision assuring that it would not impact the quality of medical professionals.
Speaking to Education Times in this regard, NMC Secretary Dr B Srinivas said, "Lowering the percentile will not impact the quality of medical professionals, as all candidates are already qualified MBBS doctors with first-hand experience in treating patients. After enrolling in postgraduate courses, these doctors will undergo further training needed in the course. Moreover, every postgraduate student must clear their final exams to earn their PG degree. Those who fail can only continue practicing as MBBS doctors."
"This step is both patient and resident-doctor-friendly, as it will increase the number of resident doctors in all hospital OPDs, where staff shortages often overburden the existing workforce," Dr. Srinivas added.
Explaining how PG medical seats going vacant result in the wastage of significant resources, the NMC Secretary said, "The government incurs a setup cost of Rs 1 to Rs 1.5 crore per seat. When these seats remain vacant for all three years, the resources are wasted, benefiting no one. Allowing students with lower scores to fill these seats will reduce wastage and help colleges operate efficiently."
He further pointed out how several private medical colleges reduce fees for non-clinical branches after the first two rounds of counselling held by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), making these courses more affordable for the PG medical aspirants.
The reason why many PG medical seats remain vacant is that while the aspirants prefer clinical specialisations, pre-clinical and para-clinical specialisation seats remain vacant. One of the main reasons why students show a lack of interest in getting enrolled to the non-clinical PG courses is lack of job prospects and financial stability. This results in vacant seats and loss of significant resources.
In order to counter this, NMC plans to integrate non-clinical specialisations into roles with clinical exposure, leveraging the existing workforce, as was the practice during the pandemic. Referring to this, Dr. Srinivas said, "We are working to involve pre-clinical and para-clinical residents in OPD duties and use their skills in nursing homes, community services, and hospitals. This is a more effective use of manpower compared to many AYUSH doctors working in such roles instead of allopathic hospitals. Pre-clinical and para-clinical students have comparable skills and can be trained for clinical duties, expanding their job opportunities."
Earlier, many PG medical aspirants had reportedly appealed to the Commission urging it to lower the cut-off, enabling them to enrol in non-clinical courses. In this regard, Dr. Srinivas said, "MBBS doctors have written letters requesting NMC to absorb them into pre-clinical and para-clinical courses, which will help them save time and further enhance their careers."
