NEET PG Admission Scandal: Doctor with 9/800 Marks Secures Postgraduate Seat in Tamil Nadu
In a startling development that has sent shockwaves through India's medical education sector, a doctor who scored a mere 9 out of 800 marks in the NEET PG entrance examination has been allotted a postgraduate medical seat in a private college. This controversial allocation occurred during the third round of counseling conducted by the state selection committee on Monday for the 2025-2026 academic session.
Management Quota Allocation Raises Eyebrows
The candidate, whose identity remains undisclosed, secured admission to MD Pharmacology at Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College in Perambalur under the management quota. This allocation represents the lowest score recorded among all postgraduate medical admissions in the current cycle and has sparked intense debate about admission standards.
Medical associations including the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and senior doctors have expressed grave concerns, warning that such admissions are setting a dangerous precedent that could compromise the quality of medical education and ultimately, patient care. The fundamental principle of merit-based admissions for postgraduate medical courses appears to be severely undermined by this development.
Widespread Low-Score Admissions Across Categories
The troubling pattern extends beyond just the management quota. Under the government quota, a student with only 42 marks secured admission to MD Community Medicine at Sri Muthukumaran Medical College in Chennai. Another candidate with 71 marks was allotted MD Forensic Medicine at Srinivasan Medical College and Hospital in Samayapuram.
For the service quota—reserved for doctors serving in government hospitals—the cutoff dropped to just 87 marks for MS Orthopaedics at ESI Medical College in Chennai. Alarmingly, at least seven students with scores below 100 were allotted postgraduate seats across various categories, with 21 doctors scoring under 100 securing admissions overall.
Further Drops Expected in Coming Rounds
Officials have indicated that cutoff marks may plummet even further in subsequent counseling rounds. If the 1,902 doctors allotted seats under the government quota and the 643 students allotted seats under the management quota decline their allocated positions, admission standards could deteriorate further.
This situation follows the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences' decision to lower the NEET PG qualifying cutoff for the 2025-26 academic session to just 103 out of 800 marks. For candidates from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, the qualifying score was set at an unprecedented -40 out of 800.
Background: The NEET PG Examination Structure
The NEET PG examination serves as the primary gateway for MBBS graduates seeking admission to postgraduate medical courses across India. The computer-based test spans 3.3 hours and comprises 200 multiple-choice questions, each worth 4 marks. The examination employs negative marking, deducting 1 mark for each incorrect answer.
The recent lowering of qualifying scores was ostensibly implemented to address the pressing issue of over 9,000 vacant postgraduate seats nationwide. However, this policy has triggered significant backlash, particularly after the Centre's medical counseling committee allotted seats to doctors with negative scores under the All India Quota in government medical colleges and deemed universities.
As the state selection committee released results for the third round of counseling for admissions to both government medical colleges and self-financing institutions, the medical community remains deeply divided about the long-term implications of these dramatically lowered admission standards for India's healthcare system.
