Andhra Pradesh: Medical aspirant students demand common platform

Visakhapatnam: Meritorious students are yet to reap benefits of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Neet) due to the absence of centralised national counselling.

Several deemed universities and private medical colleges in various states held counselling at their wish for undergraduate medical courses in 2016 under the Neet-UG, going against the very purpose of introduction of Neet. The Supreme Court had directed medical institutions to go for a joint exercise alongside the state government to fill seats.

Subsequently, in December 2016, the Union Health Ministry directed all the states to adopt ‘centralised state-level counselling’, even for the postgraduate medical and dental programmes, which will also be applicable to private as well as deemed universities from 2017 academic year.

But now aspirants demand the Centre to create a common national platform for admissions under the Neet, alleging some irregularities at state-level counselling.
Dr Naresh Gadagani at Nims, Hyderabad, said the centralised national counselling would make sure of no single seat go to an undeserving candidate or wasted under Neet.

“Without reporting the vacant seats to the university, some private medical institutions have been converting the convener quota seats into management quota seats,” he added.

Students oppose Exit test
Medical students of Andhra Pradesh have opposed the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) proposals to introduce an ‘Exit exam’ for MBBS from the coming academic year. Students of various medical colleges are heading for a nation-wide agitation against the proposal of the MCI.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had arranged a student interaction meet on Wednesday and discussed the issue. Students of 30 Medical colleges in the state attended the meeting.

Students raised a serious objection to the decision of the Medical Council of India. These students raised questions on how MCI can link council registration, practice eligibility and PG eligibility with an exit exam.

“Introducing an exit exam is nothing but forcing us into trouble. We had joined the course by qualifying for an exam prescribed by MCI, by studying in a college affiliated to the MCI and finally we are pursuing the curriculum designed by the Medical Council of India. Still the central government is forcing us to face an Exit exam, which is not fair,” says Dr G. Sarasangi, student of Pinnamaneni Siddhartha Medical College.

Quota in PG seats
The draft Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill, 2016, has called for providing 50 per cent seats in post-graduate medical courses to those who have served for at least three years in the remote and difficult areas.

But even after acquiring the PG degree, these students have to again serve for three more years in remote places. Admission under this quota will be made based on the proposed uniform national exit test (Exit Exam). While some have been supporting the proposal, some were opposing it.

Centralised counseling
The Andhra Pradesh Medical Council (APMC) confirmed that government will hold centralised counseling for filling PG medical seats in government and private medical from this year.

The APMC chairman Dr Y. Raja Rao said that Dr NTR University of Health Sciences will conduct centralised counseling for those who qualified in the Neet PG entrance results which were announced recently. He said that State government will follow the guidelines of Supreme Court and Medical Council of India.