KOLLAM: MBBS admission still remains elusive for B.R. Binchu, the daughter of a Dalit cashew worker, at the Parippally ESI medical college. She was denied admission on the ESI quota citing attendance shortage by her parent to be eligible for reservation, despite lack of working days provided to the employees.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the college has closed the quota for reservation after just the second round of counselling allotment leading to the seats allotted to the wards of destitute workers being automatically converted to seats under the state quota. Binchu’s family has moved the Kerala High Court seeking justice.
Announcing the closure of counselling sessions, the college has published a notice that the regular classes for first year MBBS students will commence on August 23. The college has a total of 100 seats out of which 15 are all India quota seats, 35 ESIC quota seats, and 50 State quota seats. “The criteria for ESI quota put forward by the ESI Corporation should be revised in order to ensure justice to these students. We have already approached the Central labour and health ministers for their intervention but there has been no progress. The remaining seats under the ESI quota will be handed over to the State for the general quota, which affects the prospects of poor aspirants,” N.K. Premachandran MP told DC.
Ms. Binju is the daughter of manual labourer Bijikumar and Rohini from Biji Mandiram, Thekkemuri in East Kallada here. Ms. Binju had cleared NEET entrance and was shortlisted for admission to the Parippally ESI medical college under quota for ESI workers. However, she is being denied admission as Rohini lacks an attendance of 78 contribution periods during the last five years in the cashew factory, based on a norm fixed by the ESI Corporation. The mother could not get the attendance as the factory had not provided sufficient working days in the prescribed term. She is a shelling worker with the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation’s (KSCDC) factory number 15 at Chittumala.
The ESI medical college authorities have denied admission citing technicalities in ESI norms that her mother should have a minimum attendance of 78 working days in ten contribution periods of six months each, from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2017. The factory in Chittumala did not even have a total of 78 working days in six months for the workers to get bare minimum attendance to be eligible for the reservation.
