Due to the qualifying percentile for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) being kept to a low score of 50 percentile, around 50 students who scored single-digit marks in Chemistry or Physics out of the total 180 marks in the entrance exam managed to get admission in the medical colleges of Punjab alone. These are the statistics for the year 2018.
Out of these 50 students, seven scored zero out of 180 marks in one of the two mentioned subjects and ten students secured negative marks in at least one subject. The fact that despite scoring such poor marks in Physics and Chemistry students are getting admission in various colleges for MBBS raises major concerns for the profession.
More than 85 per cent students to get admission in spite of obtaining single-digit marks in at least one subject had taken admission in private colleges. A study conducted in the recent years that was based on the data of medical admissions stated that the colleges that charge the highest fee typically have the poorest average of NEET scores of the students they admit. The Adesh Medical College in Punjab, for example, charges nearly Rs. 68 lakhs for the entire MBBS course from one student and it was accounted for admitting more than half the students who had received a single-digit score, zero, or negative marks in either Chemistry or Physics. Adesh Medical College does not come under fee regulation because it is affiliated to a university that is group-owned. It also has the lowest average NEET scores for MBBS admissions among the other medical colleges of the state.
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Total NEET Score (out of 720) | Score in Physics (Out of 180) | Score in Chemistry (Out of 180) | Score in Biology (Out of 360) |
---|---|---|---|
129 | 25 | -1 | 105 |
135 | 12 | 1 | 122 |
157 | 4 | 3 | 150 |
140 | 3 | 2 | 135 |
100 | 0 | 15 | 85 |
136 | -1 | 22 | 115 |
181 | -2 | 54 | 129 |
152 | -4 | 41 | 115 |
142 | -9 | 15 | 136 |
170 | -25 | 10 | 185 |
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This is an analysis of the state of Punjab itself and a similar pattern was observed in other states as well. The condition was even worse in some states of the country. However, because neither the Medical Council of India nor the Medical Counselling Committee makes the NEET score, percentile, rank, and marks in individual subjects scored by students public, the farce nature of claiming that NEET ensures all admissions to be ‘merit-based’ continues.
(Inputs: The Times of India)