As first-time entrants dwindle, the wait, cost and stress are raising questions about NEET’s promise of meritCHENNAI: Cracking NEET in the first attempt and landing an MBBS or BDS seat is an exception now. Data from the selection committee shows that the average age of students joining medical colleges has risen from 17–18 years to 20–21 years and that the share of first-time entrants has fallen since 2021–2022.“NEET has drifted from its purpose. A test meant to reward merit now favours students who can afford to wait, repeat and pay,” said Dr R Karthikeyan, founder and managing trustee of Aatrupadai Foundation, which guides govt school students through the exam and the admission process.The shift is sharpest among govt school students. In 2021–2022, 50% got admission on their first attempt under the 7.5% govt school students quota introduced in Oct 2020. In 2025–2026, it was 5%.While 44% succeeded on the third attempt, 36% made it on the second. At least 15% needed four or more attempts. Two students wrote NEET more than five times.During the same period, the share of first-time entrants under the remaining 92.5% govt quota fell from 25% to 20%, while the drop in the management category was from 40% to 30%.“The preparation process is standard. Most students take a break for one or two years after Class XII,” said P B Prince Gajendra Babu, general secretary of the State Platform for Common School System. “During the break years, students join offline coaching. Those who can afford it join another coaching centre online and buy material from yet another. So, they get trained by three institutes.”Coaching for a year in the break period costs 1.2 lakh to 3 lakh offline. Online coaching costs 30,000 to 1 lakh. Parents also pay up to Rs 75,000 for a crash course. Some students start training in Class VI, paying 30,000 to 1 lakh each year.
Data shows decline in no. of students getting admission in the first attempt. Students take a break year for coaching
The need for intensive coaching has hurt demand for state board schools. To save on cost and travel, parents choose CBSE schools that offer integrated coaching programmes. “Over the past few years, several matriculation schools have converted to CBSE or opened a branch,” Babu said.Data on whether more CBSE students get a seat on the first attempt is not available, but educationalists say parents believe the NCERT gives students a better chance.The number taking CBSE Class XII examinations in Chennai region has risen since 2017. That year, 58,472 candidates appeared from 935 schools in a region covering TN, AP, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Daman and Diu. In 2025, 94,077 appeared in a region that covered only TN, Puducherry and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.State board numbers moved the other way. In 2025, 7.9 lakh students from 7,513 schools appeared for Class XII, and 7.5 lakh passed. That was 11.3% fewer than the number who appeared in 2017.
Data shows that the share of CBSE students getting admissions has increased
“In every category, from govt school students to management quota, it’s the richest who benefit,” said school education minister A Rajmohan. “The only way this can be resolved is to abolish NEET.”The inequality does not end when NEET results are declared. For families, counselling is where rank, reservation, college fees and admission rules meet.“A good score does not always lead to a good outcome in MBBS counselling,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. NEET is meant to reward merit, but the way seats open can work against high scorers, he said.This year, after four rounds of counselling, 836 MBBS seats in deemed universities, mostly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, remained unallotted, even though 11 lakh candidates cleared the NEET-2026 qualifying cut-off. When the deadline for joining seats expired, the vacancies rose to 946 across the country. Annual fees at these universities range from 23 lakh to 35 lakh. The Medical Counselling Committee called for a special stray round to fill the seats.DMK MP P Wilson said the Union ministry must cap fees, as institutions raise them every year and are profiteering. He said the seats may get filled, but with candidates who can afford them, not with the meritorious.Colleges that filled seats saw closing ranks fall. At Sri Ramachandra Institute, the cut-off rank slid from 7.3 lakh to 10.7 lakh.“Students with minimum scores got in at the stray round. Most with better marks haven’t opted because they can’t pay this fee. It defeats the spirit of NEET,” said Arumugam. “In other colleges, students who managed to scrape through will get admission.”
