Despite repeated reductions in qualifying cut-offs for NEET PG, a significant number of postgraduate medical seats continue to remain unfilled across the country. The latest revision has further lowered eligibility thresholds, allowing candidates with extremely low scores to participate in advanced rounds of counselling. The move has reignited debate within the medical community, with experts warning that cut-off reductions alone cannot address long-standing problems in postgraduate medical education.
Lower Cut-Offs Introduced to Improve Seat Occupancy
In an effort to prevent wastage of medical seats, authorities have progressively relaxed NEET PG cut-off criteria over multiple counselling rounds. In recent years, eligibility thresholds have been lowered to ensure that more candidates can participate in mop-up and stray vacancy rounds. Under the latest changes, candidates with scores as low as negative 40 in certain categories have been permitted to take part in the third round of NEET PG counselling. While the intent is to maximise seat utilisation, critics argue that such measures are reactive rather than corrective.
Why Postgraduate Medical Seats Remain Vacant?
Medical associations maintain that seat vacancies are not caused by a lack of aspirants. Each year, a large number of MBBS graduates appear for NEET PG after extensive preparation. However, many are unable or unwilling to accept available seats due to systemic constraints. One of the primary reasons cited is the high cost of postgraduate education, particularly in private medical colleges. Tuition fees running into several million INR, coupled with additional bond and service obligations, make many seats financially inaccessible.
Imbalance in Seat Distribution and Specialities
Experts have also pointed to uneven distribution of PG seats across states and specialities. While some branches attract intense competition, others remain unpopular due to limited career prospects, inadequate infrastructure, or insufficient training exposure. This imbalance results in repeated vacancies in specific disciplines, even as highly sought-after specialities continue to see cut-throat competition.
Quality of Training and Institutional Concerns
Another factor contributing to vacant seats is concern over the quality of training in certain institutions. Candidates are increasingly cautious about opting for colleges with limited patient load, faculty shortages, or weak academic reputations, even if seats are available. Medical professionals warn that lowering cut-offs without addressing training standards risks diluting the quality of specialist education, which could have long-term implications for healthcare delivery.
Calls for Structural Reform in Medical Education
Medical bodies and policy experts have described repeated cut-off reductions as a short-term fix that fails to tackle root causes. They have called for comprehensive reforms, including rationalisation of fee structures, transparent seat allocation, improved infrastructure, and better alignment between workforce needs and postgraduate training capacity. Experts stress that unless affordability, distribution, and quality issues are addressed together, vacant PG seats will remain a recurring challenge—regardless of how low qualifying cut-offs are set.