UDF Seeks ‘One Nation, One Counselling’ for NEET-UG, Says Students Should Not Run Between Multiple Portals
NEW DELHI, JULY 31: The United Doctors Front (UDF) has called for a major overhaul of the NEET-UG counselling system, demanding a “One Nation, One Counselling” mechanism to spare medical aspirants from navigating multiple portals, schedules, fees and reporting procedures.
Welcoming the latest counselling reforms announced by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, UDF Chairperson Dr. Lakshya Mittal said the changes were a positive step but did not address the core problem of fragmented counselling for medical seats across the country.
In a representation to Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, Mittal urged the Centre to establish a Single National Counselling System through the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), bringing All India Quota, State Quotas, Central Universities, Deemed Universities and other participating institutions under one platform.
“While the recent reforms are a welcome step, the biggest structural issue in medical admissions still remains unresolved—multiple counselling processes conducted independently by the All India Quota and different states,” Mittal said.
Students caught in counselling maze
The UDF said NEET-qualified students currently have to register with different counselling authorities, often dealing with separate websites, fee structures, schedules, document-verification processes and reporting requirements.
According to the organisation, the fragmented system forces students to participate in several counselling rounds simultaneously while keeping their options open for a preferred college.
This, it said, can lead to temporary seat blocking, repeated reshuffling, delayed admissions and avoidable vacancies, besides keeping students and their families under prolonged uncertainty.
The UDF argued that the counselling system should be designed around the convenience of students rather than requiring candidates to repeatedly navigate different administrative systems.
One registration, one preference list, one seat
Under its proposed model, students would register only once, undergo document verification only once and submit a single preference list covering eligible medical colleges across participating counselling systems.
Most importantly, a candidate would be allowed to hold only one seat at a time, which the UDF said would significantly reduce seat blocking and improve the utilisation of medical seats.
The organisation also said a unified system could reduce travel, counselling expenses, paperwork and the psychological pressure faced by students and parents during the prolonged admission cycle.
“The Government has already taken an important step towards improving NEET counselling. We sincerely hope that this momentum will continue and culminate in a truly integrated One Nation, One Counselling system that ensures transparency, efficiency, merit and optimal utilisation of every medical seat in the country,” Mittal said.
The representation has also been sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Additional Secretary (Medical Education) and the Medical Counselling Committee for consideration.
The UDF said the ultimate goal should be a single, transparent, efficient and student-friendly NEET-UG counselling system where medical aspirants can make choices on merit without being trapped in a maze of multiple counselling authorities.
