Over 1,500 NEET SS 2024 Seats Remain Vacant

• Cut-Off Chaos: Doctors Left Hanging

• Super Speciality, Super Delay!

Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
Contact: +91 9322755098

Over 1,500 NEET SS 2024 super speciality seats remain vacant as NBE delays counselling. Aspirants and medical associations urge cut-off reduction, citing healthcare shortages. Sprouts SIT demands urgent policy action to prevent systemic failure and ensure optimal seat utilization.

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Over 1,500 NEET SS 2024 Seats Remain Vacant

Delayed NEET SS 2024 Counselling Triggers Panic Among Aspirants

The future of hundreds of postgraduate medical aspirants remains uncertain as the National Board of Examinations (NBE) continues to delay the third round of counselling for NEET Super Speciality (NEET SS) 2024. The examination, conducted on March 29 and 30, has been followed by a prolonged, three-month silence, during which over 1,500 super speciality seats reportedly lie vacant across India.

These vacancies are not limited to minor specialities—they include critical disciplines such as Cardiology, Neurology, Nephrology, and Gastroenterology, which are already under pressure due to the severe shortage of trained specialists in the Indian healthcare ecosystem. The

Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) has learned that frustration is building among aspirants and working doctors, who are now appealing directly to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and NBE to revise the cut-off criteria and avoid wastage of valuable academic seats.

NEET SS 2024 Cut‑Off Chaos 1,500+ Super‑Speciality Seats Still Vacant.

Medical Associations Join the Call to Lower NEET SS Cut-Offs

Organizations such as FORDA INDIA, FAIMA, and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) have officially submitted appeals demanding that the NBE issue an immediate schedule for Round 3 counselling and revisit the cut-off policy. Despite these repeated requests, the absence of any official communication from the authorities has deepened anxiety among candidates.

According to Sprouts SIT sources, many fear that the 2024 academic session will mirror previous years where dozens of seats remained unallocated due to bureaucratic delays and rigid eligibility criteria. These inefficiencies not only waste critical academic opportunities but also weaken India’s broader healthcare delivery capabilities.

2023 Precedent: Cut-Off Was Reduced to Zero Amid Crisis

This is not the first time such a situation has emerged. In 2023, the government and NBE, guided by the Supreme Court’s direction, had reduced the NEET SS cut-off to zero to ensure that every super speciality seat was filled. That move was widely welcomed as pragmatic and essential, given the pressing demand for super-specialists in both urban hospitals and rural health infrastructure.

Now, with over 1,500 seats vacant, candidates are calling for the same rationality and responsiveness. “We are not seeking dilution of merit,” said one aspirant anonymously to Sprouts SIT. “We are demanding transparency, fairness, and logical governance. Every seat left unfilled is a patient left untreated.”

Over 1,500 NEET SS 2024 Seats Remain Vacant.

Shortages of Super Specialists Jeopardize National Healthcare

Experts in medical education and public health echo similar concerns. A senior analyst told Sprouts SIT that strict cut-offs in the face of mass vacancies create a paradox where qualified doctors are denied entry into advanced training, even as hospitals and clinics struggle with specialist shortages.

“India’s rural and tier-2 cities are the worst affected,” said the expert. “If even one cardiologist or neurologist remains untrained due to avoidable policy inertia, it has ripple effects on thousands of patients.”

The Sprouts News Special Investigation Team (SIT) confirms that stakeholders across the healthcare sector—aspirants, educators, and policy experts alike—are pushing for urgent administrative clarity to salvage this admission cycle.

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NEET SS 2024: Aspirants’ Demands to NBE and MoHFW

Candidates are now putting forward three core demands to the NBE and MoHFW:

1.Immediate release of the revised counselling schedule for Round 3.

2.Reduction in the NEET SS 2024 cut-off score, especially in under-subscribed disciplines.

3.Transparent and timely updates to remove confusion and misinformation.

These demands are not only practical but also rooted in a desire to uphold national interest. If ignored, India risks repeating a cycle where valuable resources in medical education are lost to indecision and regulatory delays.

A Call for Policy Foresight and Urgency

After months of stagnation, the pressure on healthcare regulators has reached a breaking point. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) strongly urges the NBE and MoHFW to act with urgency, foresight, and inclusivity. This is not just about academic admissions—it is about public health, institutional credibility, and the future of India’s super-speciality medical capacity.

The final decision must reflect national priorities, fairness in policy execution, and a commitment to building a stronger healthcare system. Because behind every unfilled seat lies years of sacrifice by aspirants, and countless lives that stand to benefit from every trained specialist.