- By Sarju Saran Tiwari
- Tue, 10 Feb 2026 02:59 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
NEET PG Controversy: It is reported that due to a significant reduction in the NEET-PG 2025 (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test for Postgraduate) qualifying cut-off, postgraduate medical seats in government colleges are being filled with very low scores, including in core clinical and surgical specialties, raising serious concerns among doctors about training standards and patient safety.
This impact was clearly visible in the third round of postgraduate counseling, where candidates secured seats in government medical colleges with single- and double-digit marks in both clinical and non-clinical branches. A media report states that many of these allotments were made in high-risk specialties, which typically require strong academic and clinical abilities.
Seats Allotted At Minus 12 Marks:
The report states that NEET PG 2026 third round counseling data shows that an MS Orthopedics seat at a government institute in Rohtak was allotted to a candidate with just four marks out of 800. At a major medical college in Delhi, an Obstetrics and Gynecology seat went to a candidate with 44 marks, while a General Surgery seat was filled with 47 marks.
In one of the most striking cases, an MS Orthopaedics seat at a government medical college in Rohtak was allotted to a candidate who scored just 4 marks out of 800. At a government medical college in Tamil Nadu, a Physiology seat was allotted to a candidate with a minus 12 score, while a premier Delhi medical institution has seen an Obstetrics and Gynaecology seat go to a candidate with 44 marks, and a General Surgery seat was filled at 47 marks.
Medical Community Warns of Standards Crisis:
According to a senior faculty member at one of the government medical colleges mentioned in the above report, "This reflects a serious flaw in medical education and workforce planning."
Warning of long-term consequences, a senior doctor from a top medical college in Delhi said that the current system will inevitably deteriorate the quality of medical training. "The purpose of a competitive exam is to ensure basic aptitude and competence. If candidates without basic domain knowledge are granted admission, it directly compromises patient safety," the doctor said, adding that allotment based on just four marks demonstrates the system's failure and a serious compromise on standards.
These outcomes followed the Union Health Ministry's decision to significantly lower NEET-PG qualifying thresholds for the 2025-26 academic session. Under the revised criteria, the cut-off score for the general category has been reduced to 103 from the earlier 276. For the SC/ST/OBC categories, the cut-off has been brought down to minus 40 from the earlier score of 235, allowing candidates with extremely low and in some cases negative scores to qualify for counselling.
High-Risk Specialties Filled at Near-Zero Percentiles:
All subjects saw low-scoring allotments, including 10 marks in Transfusion Medicine, 11 marks in Anatomy, and -8 marks in Biochemistry, especially in the reserved and disabled categories. While the relaxed cut-offs helped prevent seats from remaining vacant, medical professionals warned that the move risked lowering minimum competency standards.
Medical educators counter that without strong faculty, strict exit mechanisms, and adequate clinical exposure, lowering entry barriers could have long-term consequences for patient care and public trust in the healthcare system.