Lowering qualifying marks to favour private colleges in Andhra Pradesh

Vijayawada: The Andhra Pradesh Health department is facing criticism for supporting private medical colleges across the state. The Department, which earlier faced criticism from the Supreme Court for allotting grace marks to the PG Medical students, are now trying to reduce PG Neet qualifying marks giving the reason of student-professor ratio. But junior doctors’ associations and medical aspirants are alleging that ministers merely want to favor private medical colleges in the state.

The AP health department, which totally failed to bring in a huge number of additional PG seats as publicised, has now delayed the PG medical counselling in the name of reducing qualifying marks.

Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas had met Union health minister J.P. Nadda thrice to discuss this issue and told him to take a decision soon, keeping in mind the future of medical aspirants.

Admitted Mr Srinivas: “We have requested the Centre to decrease the P.G Neet Entrance qualifying marks this year as the seat-to-student ratio is very low. There should be at least 1:5 competition or else non-clinical seats will be left vacant. The Centre had considered our request and will take a decision soon.”

Allegations are flying as no other state has made a request to decrease Neet qualifying marks. Student unions are alleging that Minister Kamineni is trying to prop up private medical colleges as most of the students who have already paid fees in NRI quota and other management quotas get disqualified in Neet PG entrance. “Merit students who worked day and night to qualify for PG Neet will lose their opportunity if the centre decreases the qualifying marks. The arguments by Kamineni Srinivas are not valid as very few students have qualified last year and most of them got seats based on their merit,”says AP Junior Doctors’ Association representative Dr V. Tagore.

“The MCI goal of encouraging talented students will get degraded if qualifying marks are decreased. The government, which earlier got criticism from the court for giving grace marks, will again face the same situation. This is being done  to help private medical colleges,” says Dr G. Naresh, secretary of AP Junior Doctors’ Association.