As NEET cut-offs drop, 17% enough to join MBBS

Rema.Nagarajan@timesgroup.com 05.06.2018

The results of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) results for MBBS admissions for 2018 announced on Monday showed even lower cut offs than last year. The cut-off for the unreserved category is down from 131 out of 720 marks last year to 119 this year, while the one for the reserved categories has dropped by a similar margin from 107 to 96. Over 7 lakh students from the 13 lakh plus who appeared for the exam have qualified to join medical college.

A lower eligibility cut-off for NEET would mean that students with even lower percentage of marks will be eligible to get admission for MBBS. In case you thought just being eligible would not allow those with poor scores to get admission, here’s what happened last year. Over 4,300 students who scored 180 or less in NEET actually got admission to MBBS. The overwhelming majority of them in private colleges, where high fees make it difficult for those with meagre means to join even if they have the marks.

A score of 180 out of 720 is the minimum mark a student would get if they got 40% of the answers right even if they got all the rest wrong with the negative marking scheme in place in NEET. Of course, 40% is the pass percentage in most exams. In terms of percentage, 180 out of 720 is a mere 25%. But going by the percentile system of NEET, 180 in 2017 meant the student was within the 64th percentile, well above the 50th percentile cut-off for the unreserved category.

Last year, 11,114 students who scored 270 or less out of 720 got admission into medical colleges, once again mostly in private colleges. If a student got half the answers right, he could not have got less than 270. Before NEET, the minimum eligibility criteria for MBBS admission was 50% through various entrance exams though the quality of some of the exams conducted by colleges themselves was dubious. By the percentile system, last year, a student scoring 270 was within the 80th percentile.

A person who scored 119 in this year’s NEET could at best have got 33% of the answers right. Under the NEET scheme, there are 180 questions – 45 each in physics and chemistry and 90 in biology – and every correct answer gets four marks while a wrong one gets one negative mark. Thus, a person who got 60 of the answers right would get 240 positive marks and even if he or she got all the 120 other answers wrong, the least they would score would be 120 out of 720. By a similar logic, someone who scored 96 could at best have got 55 of the 180 answers right.

Incidentally, because there are no cut-offs specified for individual subjects within NEET, there were several cases last year of people who qualified and got admission into medical colleges with scores of zero or even negative marks in chemistry or physics. With the cut-offs dropping further this year in terms of percentage marks (though remaining the same in percentile terms), chances are we will see a repeat or worse this year. 

NEET topper Kalpana studied 13 hours a day

Faryal.Rumi@timesgroup.com

Patna 05.06.2018
 
: Kalpana Kumari of Sheohar in Bihar has topped the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2018, the results of which were declared on Monday.

The exam was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on May 6 for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in colleges run with the approval of the Medical Council of India and the Dental Council of India.Out of 720, Kalpana scored 691, including perfect 360 in biology (botany and zoology), 171/180 in physics and 160/180 in chemistry. She secured a percentile score of 99.99 and was the only candidate from Bihar among the top 50 scorers in the country.

The 17-year-old girl wrote this year’s Class XII exam, conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), from YKJM College at Sheohar and her results are likely to be declared on June 6. She had completed her matriculation (Class X) from Navodaya Vidyalaya with a CGPA of 10 in 2016.Sharing her happiness, Kalpana told this newspaper over the phone from Delhi that it was like a dream come true. “I worked hard and studied 13 hours a day for my Class XII and NEET exams. I didn’t expect that I would be the topper. I also appeared for the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam and am waiting for the results. If I don’t qualify in that exam, I want to take admission in Maulana Azad Medical College on my NEET score,” she said.

“I have still not considered the specialty I want to pursue after my MBBS,” Kalpana said, adding, “I’m also expecting good marks in the Class XII exams.”Kalpana’s father, Rakesh Mishra (a lecturer at the District Institute of Education and Training, Sitamarhi), and mother Mamta Kumari (a teacher at Sheohar Government School), were elated. “I knew she would qualify in the exam, but she has proved her mettle by grabbing the top rank. After her Class XII exam, she had moved to Delhi to prepare for the medical exam. We both are proud of her. She will decide her career,” Mishra told this newspaper over the phone on Monday.

Kalpana’s elder sister, Bharti Kumari, has completed her engineering from the National Institute of Technology, Patna, and her elder brother, Pranay Pratap, is a BTech fourth-year student at IIT, Guwahati. 

Kalpana Kumari

67 inmates to be released from Puzhal prison today
Remaining 1,686 To Be Let Out Of Jail In Batches

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 05.06.2018
The state government on Monday ordered the release of 67 male prisoners from the Puzhal prison in Chennai, in the wake of former chief minister MGR’s birth centenary to be celebrated soon.

Of the total 1,753 prisoners shortlisted for premature release from various state prisons, the first batch of prisoners will step out from behind bars on Tuesday.

Monday’s announcement has brought in much cheer with the families of the 67 inmates planning a gala homecoming for their beloved.

The rest of the 1,753 are to be released in separate batches.

Those assured premature release in the February notification of the government are life convicts who have completed 10 years in prison as on February 25 this year. However, their release was delayed by about three months as the processing by the governor’s office took time.

Earlier, governor Banwarilal Purohit had rejected a single government order sent by the state home department for the release of the whole lot of shortlisted convicts and insisted on a separate government release order for each prisoner, citing the Epuru Sudhakar versus government of Andhra Pradesh order dated October 11, 2006 issued by bench Justice Arijit Pasayat.

Accordingly, the state government will send in individual requests to the governor’s office for the premature release.

Talking about the release of the remaining 1,686 inmates, an official from the home department said, “They will be released in separate batches from the respective prisons. Most of the convicted prisoners are detained in the nine central prisons in the state.”

As for the 67, the prison authorities have intimated their families of their early release via calls and fax. Part of the 750 convicted inmates in Puzhal prison-1, the 67 who are to get a taste of freedom today were bid farewell by the remaining inmates on Monday.

Those freed will have to sign 3-yr bond

Chennai: The prisoners released from the Puzhal prison on Tuesday will have to sign a bond before the respective prison superintendent.

As per the prison advisory board manual, the prisoner should sign a bond, valid for three years from the date of premature release, that he/she would not engage in any illegal activity. If the prisoner violates the bond and commits any crime, the prison probation officers can cancel the premature release any time and put them back in prison. The probation officer will be informed of each prisoner’s place of residence and will keep a tab on their activities.

Earlier, Madurai-based politician S R Gopi’s brother S R Maruthu, who was arrested in connection with the murder of communist party worker Leelavathi, was readmitted in prison in 2010 as he was found violating laws, after gaining premature release in 2008. TNN

AC Shanmugam honoured with FRCPS

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 05.06.2018

AC Shanmugam, founder-chancellor of Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute University and chairman of Rajarajeswari Group of Institution, has been conferred honorary fellowship (FRCPS) by the Royal College of Physicians and surgeries of Glasgow, the United Kingdom.

Usually accorded to only medical professionals and scientists, FRCPS is awarded nonmedical persons only on rare occasions, said a press statement, adding: “In the 400 year old history of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeoris of Glasgow very few non-medical persons have been considered for fellowship. So far only 13 have received the honour in this category.” Shanmugam is only the second India to receive the honour, the first being the late President of India KR Narayanan, it said. His name was recommended for the honour first time in 2012.

NEET CUT-OFF DOWN, BUT COMPETITION TO GO UP 

With More Candidates Qualifying And State Quota Reducing Seats, Benefits Of A Low Cut-Off Have Been Negated, Say Experts

Vinayashree.J@timesgroup.com 05.06.2018

The overall NEET 2018 cutoff may be down from 131 in 2017 to 119 this year, but that doesn’t mean a seat of your choice is guaranteed. With an increase of 1.3 lakh qualifiers across the country this year (12,766 in Tamil Nadu), lower cut-off and reduction of seats in the state quota, the competition has become tougher. The cut-off for reserved categories too has come down to 96 this year compared to last year’s 107.

The fact that the physics and chemistry sections were tougher compared to last year could have led to the lowering of the overall cut-off, said Sourav Mondal, centre head, Coimbatore FIITJEE.

Students in the state, however, seem to have fared better with an increase in the pass percentage by 0.72%. In Tamil Nadu, the number of registrations as well as qualifiers went up this year — 45,336 candidates qualified against 32, 570 last year.

“From the feedback we received, a lot of students have performed well and especially those in reserved categories have secured good marks. The cut-off for Tamil Nadu medical admissions, however, is only expected to rise,” said educationist Jayaprakash Gandhi.

With more number of candidates qualifying, benefits that might have accrued due to fall in qualifying mark (cut-off) across all categories might be negated, said experts.

“This fall has not necessarily brought cheer to students this year because of a spurt in the number of NEET-qualified candidates by more than 1.03 lakh students,” said N Balamurugan, a medical education consultant with Click&Pro. Pointing out that the CBSE was yet to release the marks across different mark range in the state, he said that an average of about a dozen students would be competing for an MBBS seat across the country.

An estimated 61,390 MBBS seats are available in the 476 medical colleges and deemed universities in the state, Balamurugan said, adding that “medical seat-student ratio is 1:11.6 which is quite tough.” The total number of seats in the 22 government medical colleges is 2,900. From this, 15% will go to the all-India pool and the rest is for state students, said G Selvaraj, secretary, Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee.

In terms of the number of qualifiers, Tamil Nadu stands sixth among states after Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The number of students who wrote the paper in Tamil this year was 24,720. However, following the test complaints of errors in the Tamil version of the paper were raised by a section of candidates. 




IMPROVED SHOW: Students in Tamil Nadu have fared better compared to last year with the number of candidates clearing NEET going up by a marginal 0.72% this year

‘Always wanted to be a doctor’

Gayatri Vasudevan 05.06.2018

Chennai girl Keerthana K, who scored 676 out of 720 and secured an all-India rank of 12, is the only candidate from Tamil Nadu to break into the top-50.

Hailing from a family of doctors, Keerthana said she had always dreamed of becoming a doctor as she had seen her parents save lives. But for her, the score was unexpected.

“I always wanted to take up AIPMT and prepared myself from middle school. I had no fixed time schedule. I would take concepts and aimed at studying them. Pursuing medicine had been my only aim and I am very glad that I am able to make it happen,” she said.

Keerthana said she had found this year’s NEET exam harder than last year. “Physics was calculative and lengthy but chemistry was simpler. However, if the students were strong with the fundamentals they would’ve found it easier. Students from CBSE may have found biology easier as a lot of questions were from NCERT,” she said.

A student of PSBB School, Keerthana said that she did not feel stressed about the board or NEET exams and credited her school for not adding extra pressure.

“I could give my full attention to study and prepare for NEET. I had taken up a lot of coaching for the exam and at times when I felt a little stressed out, my parents motivated me,” she said.

Keerthana, for whom Madras Medical College is one of the preferred choices, said she was waiting for the AIIMS and JIPMER results and based on that she would decide on her college. 

Eligibility score to secure govt quota seats may increase

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com 05.06.2018

Contrary to the national trend, minimum eligibility score required for admissions into government quota seats in Tamil Nadu medical colleges might increase by 10 marks or more compared to the previous year, said educationists.

Last year, 384 was declared the minimum eligible NEET score for general category candidates to secure a seat in a government medical college.

Also, 295, 235, 191 and 161 were set as scores for candidates from backward caste, most backward caste, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe.

“A score of 390 or more will definitely be the cutoff for general candidates in government colleges this year. For others, the required score will be at least 10 marks more than the 2016 scores,” said educational consultant Moorthy Selvakumaran.

He attributed this increase in scores to the 36% percent increase in enrolment, 12,000 more candidates having cleared the exam and better ranks secured by candidates.

For example, 1,883 students had been trained at a private coaching centre which has branches across Tamil Nadu. Of them, 1,131 (60%) scored above 300.

Another indication that Tamil Nadu students have performed better is that the state topper managed an all-India rank of 12 against last year’s rank of 260.

Not only government quota seats, even management quota seats (50% in non-minority and 65% in private institutions) would be filled by the government based on merit through single-window counselling.

As far as the 15% all-India quota seats in government colleges are concerned, experts stand divided on whether Tamil Nadu students stand a better chance compared to those from other states.

While a section said that more number of students from TN would get admissions under this quota compared to the previous one, others said it was unlikely since TN was still low in the national level ranking.

In terms of overall qualifying percentage, southern states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karanataka have managed to find a spot in the top 10. Tamil Nadu stands third last in the list.

Therefore, securing an admission under the 15% all-India quota or management quota in private medical colleges in other states is going to be tough for TN students, said G R Ravindranath from Doctors Association for Social Equality.