NMC Removes Minimum Score Requirement, Raises Concerns of Vacant Seats in Other Medical Courses
New Dehli: In a recent development, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has made significant changes to the eligibility criteria for undergraduate medical courses, particularly for MBBS admissions. The new rules, as outlined in a notification issued on June 2, state that the previous requirement of securing a minimum of 50% marks in Class 12 science results for MBBS admission has been abolished. Instead, prospective students can now secure admission based solely on their NEET-UG score, irrespective of their Class 12 marks.
However, it is important to note that the relaxation of eligibility criteria applies only to MBBS courses and not to dental, ayurvedic, homeopathic, and nursing courses. The 50% minimum score requirement in Class 12 science results still stands for these courses, as they fall outside the purview of the NMC. Admissions for these courses are overseen by state-level admission committees, which are regulated by the respective councils at the Centre. It is worth mentioning that the physiotherapy course is currently an exception, as it allows students who passed Class 12 without needing to meet the 50% minimum score requirement.
While the removal of the 50% minimum score criterion for MBBS admissions has been welcomed by aspiring medical students, concerns have been raised regarding the potential impact on other branches of medical education. With the preference likely to shift towards MBBS courses, there is a possibility of many seats remaining vacant in dental, ayurvedic, homeopathic, nursing, and physiotherapy courses.
The state currently houses 12 dental colleges with a total of 1,200 seats, 40 ayurvedic colleges with 2,700 seats, 42 homeopathic colleges with 4,000 seats, nursing colleges with 25,000 seats, and 65 physiotherapy colleges with 5,300 seats. The revision in eligibility criteria may result in a significant number of these seats going unfilled.
Sources have indicated that this year, approximately 42,986 students have passed the Class 12 science exams under Group B. Among these students, around 17,000 have secured less than 50% marks. If the state admission committees do not revise the minimum 50% marks criteria for these courses, a considerable number of seats may remain unoccupied, posing a challenge to the overall allocation of seats in medical education.
As the impact of these changes unfolds, it remains to be seen how the state admission committees will respond to the revised eligibility criteria and address the possibility of vacant seats in dental, ayurvedic, homeopathic, nursing, and physiotherapy courses.