Vijayawada: Despite clear guidelines being issued by the Supreme Court and the Medical Council of India prohibiting the sale of medical seats from the NRI-quota to students without merit, a few agencies have begun selling MBBS seats across the two Telugu states. These agencies have access to the database of students who appeared for the Neet UG examination, along with their contact information. They are approaching students and offering them seats at various deemed universities across the country.
Medical colleges, which used to earn hundreds of crores of rupees every year through the sale of medical UG and PG seats, were badly hit by the terms and guidelines issued by the MCI and the Supreme Court. But the Supreme Court’s efforts to encourage meritorious students in medical education are being negated by the greed of a few corporate and deemed medical colleges.
Agencies that offer MBBS seats claim to be official agents of medical colleges. They say that they will be able to get around the counselling sessions. M. Venkata Ramana, a businessman, says, “My son has attempted the Neet UG entrance exams. The results have not yet been announced, but many agencies have been making calls offering medical seats. They are offering us MBBS seats at deemed universities across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and some north-eastern states. We are confused about how they are managing to sell seats despite the clear guidelines.”
Dr T. Raviraju, the Vice Chancellor of the Dr NTR University of Health Sciences, says that seats under all categories will only be filled based on the merit list. “NTR University is strictly following guidelines, and no seat can be filled by colleges without our notice. We will take stringent action if we find any discrepancies,” he says.
Dr K. Ramesh Reddy, a member of the MCI, says, “Medical colleges used to sell NRI-quota seats at high costs through private brokers, under the guise of official consultancies. But it is a crime to sell seats through official brokers and agents, without taking into consideration the student’s merit. Colleges continue this illegal practices by taking advantage of some loopholes. Students and parents should not encourage such agencies. They should complain to either the police or the MCI about it.”
