A representation has been sent to the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) regarding the notification which has sparked a big debate among the medical community regarding zero percentile in National Eligibility Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG 2023).
The representation, drafted on Saturday, September 23, has been sent via Supreme Court Advocate Tanvi Dubey on behalf of several NEET-PG candidates who have been opposing this move.
“It is appalling to note, that by reducing the eligibility criteria to zero percentile, i.e., minus 40 marks – there will be no eligibility threshold that will be given effect to. The purpose of NEET-PG will dilute if the very quotient of “eligibility” is taken away. We have no doubt that the aforesaid order will not only be harmful to the medical fraternity but also to the society at large since there is no yardstick for eligibility which will be followed in a national level entrance examination,” the letter sent to NMC read.
The letter added that the notification by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) is in gross violation of the fundamental rights of the candidates.
The MCC released a notice on Wednesday, September 20, announcing that the NEET-PG 2023 cut-off percentile has been reduced to zero. This move came after a few medical associations had urged the NMC and the MoHFW to reduce the cut-off citing a huge number of vacant PG medical seats.
However, the move was criticised by a huge portion of the medical community who said that this would promote private medical education and affect the quality healthcare sector.
“As an alternative, we suggest you decrease the Eligibility Percentile gradually, depending on the number of vacant seats, as it will address the issue of vacant seats without causing any prejudice to Candidates,” the letter drafted to NMC further read.
It was also informed that a legal route will be taken against the notification if a response is not received from the NMC and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare within two days.
