Srinagar , Jan 14 : The revised qualifying standards for NEET-PG 2025 have triggered intense concern across the medical fraternity, exposing a deep fault line in India’s postgraduate medical admission process. The latest notification by the National Board of Examinations has significantly lowered qualifying percentiles, sparking fears about the future quality of medical education and healthcare delivery.
Under the revised norms, candidates from the General and EWS categories are now considered eligible at the 7th percentile, which corresponds to a score of 103 out of 800. Even more alarming is the threshold set for SC, ST, and OBC categories, where the qualifying percentile has been reduced to zero, with reported scores touching minus 40 out of 800. Such figures have left doctors, educators, and policy observers questioning the credibility of the screening process itself.
Experts argue that affirmative measures were introduced to ensure fair representation, not to eliminate academic thresholds altogether. Medicine, they stress, is a discipline where competence is non-negotiable, as every decision directly impacts human life. “Lowering the bar to this extent risks normalising mediocrity in a profession that demands excellence,” warn senior clinicians.
The implications are especially serious for regions like Jammu and Kashmir, where the healthcare system already faces manpower shortages and infrastructure challenges. Observers caution that unchecked dilution of standards could result in medical institutions producing graduates ill-equipped for the demands of clinical practice, ultimately endangering patient safety.
The controversy has reignited a broader national debate on balancing social justice with merit. Critics are now calling for immediate rationalisation of admission policies to restore credibility, uphold academic rigor, and protect public health. As the dust settles, one question looms large: Can a healthcare system survive if merit is no longer its backbone?
