NTR-UHS awaiting guidelines to counselling for MBBS

VIJAYAWADA: NTR University of Health Sciences (NTR-UHS) is yet to go ahead with admissions for first year MBBS, BDS and other courses. To do so, it is awaiting orders from the state government specifying guidelines to conduct counselling for admissions into the first year.

A six-member, high-level committee, with university registrar Dr. K. Sankar as its convener, has submitted already a report with a set of guidelines on conduct of counselling to the Department of Higher Education (DHE). Basis this, DHE is supposed to issue a GO incorporating the guidelines for counselling.

The guidelines include conduct of separate counselling for admission into first year MBBS and BDS courses. It had been a combined exercise thus far. Counselling for admission for first year Ayush courses will also be done separately.

The NTR-UHS registrar said, “Unless another GO specifying guidelines on conduct of counselling is issued, we cannot go ahead with admissions.” DHE has already issued G. O. 159 on implementation of reservations for SC, ST and BC students in all higher educational institutions of the state.

A key task of students is to exercise their one-time option of indicating their priority in choosing the medical college in which they would like to seek admission. There are 29 government and private medical and dental colleges in the state.

Students will have to indicate their order of preference with regard to each of these colleges. Students have to willy-nilly take admission in the college for which they have been selected. Only this will enable them to take part in sliding to seek admission in another college during the next round of counselling.

In case a student fails to take admission in the first college suggested, he or she will not be allowed to take part in sliding.
University authorities are very specific about guidelines for the sliding method in first year MBBS, BDS and other admissions. The Supreme Court had earlier served notice for adoption of a proper sliding method after a public interest litigation (PIL) had been filed alleging misinterpretation of sliding rules during admission for PG courses in 2019.

AP High Court too had recently issued directions to come up with a set of guidelines for conduct of counselling for admission into UG courses. Accordingly, the Department of Higher Education has to issue a G.O. setting the guidelines.
Presently, NTR university authorities are getting ready to announce the state merit list based on NEET UG – 2020 in a couple of days.

Initially, only a provisional merit list will be announced calling for objections, if any, from students within two days. The final state merit list will be released only after that.