IMA demands protection of merit in rank-based NEET admission system

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Wednesday requested that there should be no compromise on merit and minimum academic standards in postgraduate medical admissions. According to a Business Standard report, the IMA has stated that the rank-based system proposed by the National Medical Commission (NMC) for NEET-PG and NEET-SS should not be used solely to fill vacant seats, as it could compromise merit and patient safety.

The NMC has given in-principle approval to replace the existing percentile-based system with a rank-based merit system for admissions to postgraduate and super-specialty medical courses. Under this proposed arrangement, only ranks instead of percentile scores will be announced in exam results. However, this system has not yet been notified through final NMC regulations and a draft regulation is expected to be released for stakeholder consultation.

This proposal is part of the recommendations of a 12-member expert committee submitted to the Supreme Court. Its main objective is to reduce delays between counseling rounds and complete the admission process within the stipulated academic calendar. The IMA has welcomed a transparent, predictable, and time-bound counseling procedure, but warned that merely replacing percentiles with ranks will not solve the underlying problems of vacant seats and lowered minimum qualification standards.

IMA National President Dr. Anil Kumar J. Nayak emphasized, "Medical education is not just about filling seats; it is about producing competent specialists who will be responsible for human life." He added that there should be no compromise with merit and minimum academic competence, and no candidate should be admitted by giving arbitrary relaxation in qualification standards merely to fill vacant seats.

Due to the problem of postgraduate medical seats remaining vacant, qualifying percentiles are frequently reduced, causing concern among doctors. They say that due to such relaxations, candidates with very low or even negative scores also become eligible for admission. The IMA states that instead of lowering qualification standards, the reasons for seats remaining vacant should be investigated.

Dr. Piyush Jain, Finance Secretary of IMA Headquarters, stated that reasons such as excessively high fees, inadequate infrastructure, faculty shortage, disparity in stipends, and unappealing working conditions in certain specialties should be identified. He said that rather than lowering the eligibility threshold, structural reforms are needed to make less preferred specialties and institutions attractive to medical graduates.

चेन्नई: The IMA has demanded that the counseling process should be transparent and uniform, and completed according to a prescribed calendar so that academic sessions do not face delays. Furthermore, all stakeholders, including the IMA, medical colleges, faculty members, and resident doctors, must be consulted before finalizing the regulations. Dr. Nayak clarified that the organization supports progressive reforms, but its objective should be to strengthen the quality of healthcare rather than improving admission statistics.