What is the significance of having zero cut off in NEET PG - Explainer

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), which is in charge of allotting post-graduate seats for medical education through the NEET-PG exam, made an unexpected declaration earlier this week that the eligibility for the seats still empty this year will be zero percentile.

Since the examination replaced all other medical entrance exams in 2017, this is the first time the eligibility cut-off has been totally eliminated. Despite two rounds of counselling, over 13,000 PG seats in medical colleges throughout the country remain unfilled.

About the NEET-PG exam

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Post Graduates (NEET-PG) is an important medical entrance examination in India administered by the National Board of Examinations (NBE). It is required for medical graduates who have earned their MBBS degrees and wish to pursue postgraduate medical programs such as MD, MS, and DNB. NEET-PG is a computer-based exam with multiple-choice questions covering a variety of medical areas.

This exam produces rankings, including percentiles, that are used to determine candidates' eligibility and preferences for postgraduate courses and institutions. It is critical in standardising the selection process for postgraduate medical programs, ensuring that candidates meet the educational requirements for further medical study. Following this, the MCC conducts counselling sessions in a phased manner, nationwide, to allocate available seats in medical colleges and hospitals. These sessions allocate limited seats for each specialisation.

Three PG degrees for med students

MD, MS, and DNB are postgraduate medical programmes in India that provide specialised training and experience in a variety of medical specialties. Here's a breakdown of what each of these courses entails:

MD (Doctor of Medicine): An MD is a postgraduate medical degree that focuses on diagnosing, treating, and managing various medical disorders and diseases in patients. Medical graduates who have completed their MBBS can pursue an MD in fields such as Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Radiology, Dermatology, Psychiatry, and many others. MD programs often combine theoretical education with clinical training. A doctor can become a specialist in their chosen subject after finishing an MD degree.

MS (Master of Surgery): MS is a postgraduate medical degree that focuses on surgical specialties, which are specialised areas of medicine that focus on performing surgical procedures to diagnose, treat, or manage medical illnesses and injuries. An MS, like an MD, is pursued after completing MBBS. MS programs allow students to specialise in surgical specialties such as general surgery, orthopaedic surgery, ophthalmology, obstetrics and gynaecology, and more. MS programs in surgical techniques and procedures include both theoretical and practical instruction. A medical professional can become a surgical specialist after earning an MS degree.

DNB (Diplomate of National Board): In India, the NBE offers a postgraduate medical qualification known as the DNB. It is considered an equivalent to the MD and MS degrees, and it allows for specialisation in a variety of medical and surgical fields. DNB programs are often held in hospitals and institutions that are accredited. Medical graduates can pursue a DNB in their selected specialty, and the coursework and examination process is comparable to that of MD and MS programs.

These postgraduate courses are chosen by doctors depending on their interests and career goals in order to become specialists in their chosen medical specialties.

So, what exactly is a percentile in exams?

A percentile is a statistical term that describes the relative position of a specific value within a dataset. It is useful to understand how one data point compares to the rest of the data. Confused? Let us make things easier for you.

Percentile is a method of determining how well you performed in comparison to others in a test or competition. Assume you and your pals all took a large Maths test. Your percentile indicates the percentage of persons who scored lower or better than you.

Sorting Scores: First, we collect all of the test scores and arrange them in ascending order from lowest to highest. Assume there are 100 total scores.

Understanding Scores: If you received an 80, that means that 80 percent of your peers who took the test scored lower than you. That's because you outperformed 80 out of 100 people. Likewise: If you scored in the 90th percentile, you outperformed 90 out of 100 people. You did just as well as half of the people (50 out of 100) if you scored in the 50th percentile.

What It implies: If you're in the 75th percentile in Math, it implies you're performing better than the majority of students who took the same test. You are among the top 25%! The greater your percentile, the better your performance in comparison to your classmates. It's a way to see how you're faring in a fair and easy-to-understand manner.

Putting it all together

The MCC set a cut-off percentile of 50 in the initial NEET-PG counselling session in July. This meant that, out of 800 possible points, the highest score of 582 represented the 100th percentile, and candidates scoring 291 or higher in the open category, 257 or higher in the reserved category, and 274 or higher in the persons with disabilities (PWD) category were eligible for counselling. Despite the fact that most medical colleges filled seats, including sought-after courses like General Medicine, a considerable number of postgraduate seats (about 13,245) remained unfilled even after the second round of counselling. The majority of unfilled seats in these medical colleges were in the All-India quota, and there were also over 3,000 unfilled seats for DNB doctors working in hospitals.

In order to solve this issue, medical organisations, including the Indian Medical Association, petitioned the Health Ministry to decrease the percentile cut-off to 20. In response, the MCC not only decreased, but also eliminated the percentile threshold. Every NEET-PG student who took the exam, including those with zero or even negative marks, will be eligible for counselling if their percentile is zero. As a result of this judgement, 14 students with 'zero' scores, 13 students with negative scores, and one student with a score of -40 have qualified for NEET-PG.

How will the change affect candidates?

A greater number of hopefuls are now eligible for seats, ensuring that the majority of seats are filled. It will, however, make things more difficult for candidates who were waiting for seat allotment in Round 3 as well as those waiting for an upgrade in seat allotment.

Will this rule be in effect next year?

At this moment, there has been no official announcement on whether or not this move would be permanent.

What has been the reaction to this change?

While some have praised the decision, others, including medical organisations and politicians, have called it a "mockery of the healthcare system." The decision of the Union Health Ministry comes after doctors across the country had been demanding a reduction in the NEET-PG 2023 cut-off criteria.