Shillong: Parents of NEET-UG 2026 candidates are demanding answers from the Directorate of Health Services over alleged irregularities in the MBBS counselling process. Families argue the current system violates merit-based standards despite established reservation policies. These policies mandate 40 percent of seats for Khasi and Jaintia candidates, 40 percent for Garo, 15 percent for UR, and 5 percent for SC/OST.
High-scoring ST candidates from the Khasi and Jaintia category face significant setbacks. Instead of accessing both reserved and general merit slots, these students are pushed into the UR category cycles later than their ranks demand. This effectively shrinks their seat options. One top-ten ranked candidate lost out on a preferred seat to a lower-ranked peer due to this scheduling shift.
Further issues involve the re-counselling process. Notification No. DHS/MER.150/MBBS Admission/2026-27/6101, issued 17 September 2026, revealed that seats previously held by high-merit students were reassigned to lower-ranked applicants. Parents claim the state failed to release the Standard Operating Procedure in a timely manner. Officials made the 15 September SOP public on 16 September, the same day choice-filling occurred.
The ordeal has caused tangible harm. Many students surrendered seats in other prestigious institutions based on initial, and subsequently overturned, allotments. Affected families insist the state must fix these discrepancies immediately. "A counselling process that induces students to surrender genuine opportunities elsewhere, only to then upend their own allotment through inconsistent re-counselling, causes irredeemable harm," the parents stated.
The group is now petitioning the Health and Family Welfare Department of Meghalaya. They demand an immediate review of merit allotments, improved transparency, and a concrete plan to protect students who sacrificed other admissions in good faith. They fear administrative haste is destroying the credibility of the entire medical entry system.
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