Every year, the same dream grows in millions of Indian homes: a son or daughter becomes a doctor. Every year, that dream must pass through a difficult exam. And every year, the mountain of hopes collides with the wall of numbers.

This year, more than two million students took the NEET-UG exam. On the other hand, the total number of MBBS seats in the country is about 129,000. Across 823 medical colleges nationwide, 129,602 seats are available. That means, on average, more than 16 candidates compete for a single seat. Competition for seats in government medical colleges is even more terrifying. The health future of a country of 1.4 billion people cannot be left to such a limited number of seats.

Read in Hindi: बीस लाख सपने और सवा लाख सीटें, देश को चाहिए नई परीक्षा व्यवस्था...

India has indeed made notable progress in medical education in recent years. A few years ago, the number of MBBS seats was about 109,000; it has risen to roughly 130,000. New medical colleges have opened, and seats at many institutions have been increased. But demand is growing far faster than supply.

The dream of becoming a doctor is no longer limited to big cities or wealthy families. Students from small towns, townships and villages study day and night. Many spend years in coaching institutes. Families spend their life savings. Yet government seats are so few that thousands of capable students are left behind despite hard work and talent.

Critics say the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET, has inadvertently spawned a huge coaching industry that profits from students’ anxieties and dreams. They argue that the exam now rewards expensive coaching, test-taking techniques and rote learning more than talent, sensitivity and real understanding. This makes opportunities unequal for rural, poor and government-school students.

The growing number of coaching centres, high fees and question-paper leaks have strengthened the perception that a powerful commercial apparatus has developed around education. However, calling NEET a ‘conspiracy of mafias’ is an opinion, not a fact, because there is no solid evidence of an organised criminal nexus to support it.

When success starts to depend not only on merit but also on the ability to pay fees, it is natural to question the system. Of the country’s total MBBS seats, about 63,000 are in government institutions. The remaining seats are in private and deemed universities, where fees range from lakhs of rupees per year to crores for the entire course.

In such circumstances, the dream of becoming a doctor often remains unfulfilled for poor and middle-class families. This is not only a problem for students. It is a question of the nation’s public health.

Even today, many rural and remote areas in India suffer from a severe shortage of doctors. Primary health centres operate without specialists. The burden on government hospitals is increasing. The need to improve the doctor-to-patient ratio is continually felt.

Expanding medical education is not merely an academic issue but a national necessity. The solution is not to lower standards, but to increase opportunities. Holding NEET twice a year would cause no harm.

There should be a well-equipped medical college and an affiliated teaching hospital in every district. District hospitals should be gradually converted into medical colleges. To address shortages of teachers, better pay, transparent recruitment and modern facilities must be provided.

Just as roads, airports and industrial corridors are important, so too is health infrastructure. Doctors are a country’s greatest asset. There is a particular need to open new medical colleges in higher-population regions such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and the North-Eastern states.

At the same time, effective control and transparency in fees for private medical education must be ensured. No talented student’s dream should be shattered because of financial compulsion.

The more than two million students who appeared in NEET are not just numbers. They are the country’s energy, its aspirations, and the backbone of the future health system.

The opportunity to become a doctor should not be a privilege for a few; it should be a right for every deserving student.