Now Reading: NEET PG cutoff should not let negative marks qualify: panel
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NEET PG cutoff should not let negative marks qualify: panel
The Story in Brief
A 12-member expert committee of the Union Government has told the Supreme Court that the minimum qualifying percentile for NEET PG should not be reduced to a point where candidates with negative marks become eligible for admission. The committee, chaired by DGHS Dr Loveneesh G Krishna, was set up after the government sharply lowered the qualifying cutoff for NEET-PG 2025-26.
In its report submitted to a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, the panel said the sanctity of NEET examinations must be maintained and that cut-offs should not be reduced merely to fill vacant seats. It warned against reducing competitive examinations to an administrative formality.
The government had reduced the minimum qualifying percentile for the third round of NEET-PG 2025 counselling to the 7th percentile for General/EWS, the 5th for General PwBD, and the 0th for SC/ST/OBC categories. This set the qualifying score at 103 for General/EWS, 90 for General PwBD, and minus 40 for SC/ST/OBC candidates.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The expert committee's report directly challenges the government's own decision to lower NEET PG cutoffs so far that negative marks qualified. By framing the issue as one of educational standards versus administrative convenience, the panel pushes the Supreme Court to weigh institutional integrity against seat-filling targets. The court must now decide whether the government's percentile reduction was a practical fix or a dilution of merit. The bench's next hearing will determine if the 2025-26 counselling process stands or is revised.
Source: medicaldialogues.in
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
