Given the ongoing dearth of doctors, the Supreme Court′s concern regarding unfilled postgraduate medical college seats is pertinent. Its not only that places for specialized PG education aren′t being filled. Even undergraduate places, such as those at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) 19 centres, are empty. A proper strategy should be planned out by the Government of India, Medical Counseling Committee (MCC) of the Ministry of Health and the National Medical Commission (NMC), to handle this unsettling situation.

The World Health Organization recommends a ratio of 1:1000, however, in India, there′s one physician for every 1,511 people. To fill the vacant seats, one strategy which the MCC could follow was to carryout in extra rounds of counselling and reduce the cut-off marks till the seats are full.

Some universities are of the view that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) ratings to take centralize admissions caused resentment among students as they were being given a particular college and no choices or options. Applicants can specify their preferences, but they will be assigned a college from the MCC list, which is generally not their first choice. Another consideration is that applicants may not be able to select their preferred specialization. Yet another approach is for colleges to specify and continually assess their NEET cut-off score by institution and specialism. This would allow students to apply to whichever college they want as long as they meet the admissions requirements. The MCC, for its part, may keep an eye on things to ensure that institutions arent abusing the system and that only those who are qualified are admitted.

India needs to boost the number of qualified doctors in its workforce. To address the shortage of well-trained doctors, the admissions system must maximize the acceptance of qualified applicants. (ETHealthWorld, 11 June 2022)