Top News

Dr Pravin Shingare has defended NBEMS’ decision to cut NEET PG qualifying percentiles to zero for reserved categories, saying the move is needed to address a severe faculty shortage and questioning why foreign-trained doctors face less scrutiny.

The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced a dramatic cut in the NEET PG 2025-26 cut-off, thereby sparking a fresh debate over merit, the quality of doctors, and an acute faculty shortage in our country. Further, on January 13, 2026, NBEMS has lowered the percentile to the 0th percentile for candidates belonging to SC/ST/ OBC and PwBD, and to 7th percentile for General and EWS candidates. This means that candidates, even with negative marks would become qualified.

This is to fill 17,600 to 18,000 postgraduate medical seats that are empty. Standards have thus fallen.

Revised NEET PG 2025–26 Qualifying Percentile (3rd Round)

• General (UR) / EWS: 7th Percentile (Cut-off Score: ~103/800)

• General-PwBD: 5th Percentile (Cut-off Score: ~90/800)

• SC / ST / OBC / SC-PwBD / ST-PwBD / OBC-PwBD: 0th Percentile (Cut-off Score: ~–40/800)

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Dr. Pravin Shingare,veteran medical education administrator and former Director of Medical Education and Research in Maharashtra, defended the decision, saying the issue is not just merit, but the urgent need to build medical faculty capacity to support the rapid expansion of medical seats.

FPJ: Many experts say that reducing percentiles just to fill seats is risky and could affect the quality of doctors. Isn’t this playing with patient safety and human lives?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: Yes. Regarding this, I would like to mention the quality. Number one, the quality of students passing from government medical colleges. Number two, students passing from private medical colleges, the quality is little less. And number three, students coming from China and other foreign countries maybe around 35 countries, that is the third group. So there are three quality groups among doctors in India.

Now if there is no problem for the third group, why you are bothered about the second group? First, you tackle the third group. Government of India has already decided to increase 25,000 MBBS seats in two years and 75,000 seats in five years, as stated by Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That means we may have to open nearly 300 medical colleges. For that, thousands of faculty will be required. In Maharashtra alone, 8–9 medical colleges started in one year. That means 1,000 faculty required. But production of faculty is only 5 to 10 per cent. In new government colleges, 100 teachers are required, but only 10 are there.

So if you are tolerating this situation, why prevent private colleges and MBBS doctors from becoming specialists and faculty? My whole life focus was on medical teaching. Teaching is important. The faculty number has to be good. Quality comes after that.

FPJ: But infrastructure is also not matching the increase in seats. How can reducing percentiles work if there are no facilities or teachers?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: Parallel infrastructure increase and parallel faculty increase is not happening. Government is leaving students without infrastructure, without hostel, without space, without hospital and without patients. Out of four things — hospital, infrastructure, equipment and faculty — unless faculty is there, the other three have zero value. Faculty is topmost. You can build buildings with crores of rupees, but you cannot create a faculty unless they are available in the market. To increase faculty, percentile must be decreased. That is the only way. There is no other way to increase faculty. Lower meritorious aspirants who want to become faculty should get the opportunity.

FPJ: How will lowering merit affect the quality of teachers and training?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: Lowering merit means scoring in 19 subjects. But a PG student will focus on one subject. He is trained for three years in that one subject. During that time, he improves in quality and quantity. Once he becomes a good teacher, he will also help in developing infrastructure and equipment. So training happens during post-graduation. That is how faculty quality is built.

FPJ: What role do NMC and NBEMS play in this situation?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: NMC is a watch body. Because of NMC, private colleges are forced to appoint teachers. But today private colleges say there is no faculty in the market. Government colleges are running with 40 per cent faculty and are still allowed to admit students. Private colleges are questioned for the same. That is why faculty numbers must increase. The way cut-offs are decided is artificial. If PG seats are 50,000, the government makes 1.5 lakh eligible and then draws a red line. This is not ethical. Earlier it was 24 per cent, then 21 per cent, then 16 per cent. Why not directly go to zero and end this matter? Supreme Court has already said that a single vacant seat is a loss to the nation. Court will never say keep seats vacant in the name of merit.

FPJ: What do you see as the long-term impact of this decision?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: Long-term effects will be very good. Large number of faculty will be developed. Foreign graduates and lower meritorious students will come into teaching. In two to three years, they will improve. Everybody wants to become a good teacher.

FPJ: Will this reduce the trend of students going abroad for medical education?

Dr. Pravin Shingare: No. This is only for post-graduation and super-speciality. MBBS seats in India are 1.2 lakh, while aspirants are 14 lakh. So students will still go abroad. That is why PM Modi has said increase seats by 75,000. But if you increase MBBS seats without increasing faculty, doctors will be hopeless. Faculty production must match seat expansion. This move is to achieve that target. If we prevent this, target will never be achieved.