MBBS Admissions: Delhi HC says Class 12 students with biology as additional subject now eligible for admission

MBBS Admissions: Delhi HC says Class 12 students with biology as additional subject now eligible for admission

The MCI regulates that students with biology as an additional subject in Class 12 are not eligible for the NEET exam, which is pivotal to MBBS admissions.

FP Staff August 21, 2018 12:22:48 IST

The Delhi High Court has said that medical aspirants who have completed their Class 12 examinations with biology as an additional subject and have qualified the NEET exams will be given admission to the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) regulation states that those studying biology or biotechnology as an additional subject in Class XII were not eligible to participate in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). According to a report from The Indian Express, a bench of Justices S Ravindra Bhat and AK Chawla held the MCI regulation as “discriminatory and arbitrary”.

“It is held that the petitioners… all of whom had appeared in NEET and qualified in the entrance examination, and were also successful during counselling but not granted final admission in the allotted seats, awaiting the decision in this proceeding, shall be granted final admission,” the bench was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

The court's decision came on a plea by students who have studied biology and biotechnology as additional subjects. The students challenged the MCI regulation, claiming that the Council has not considered the rules and procedures of different state boards before rejecting candidates from MBBS admissions.

The court accepted the claim, and said that “lack of any empirical study supporting the MCI’s conclusion — that those who qualify from regular scholastic study in the 10+2 exams with additional subjects of biology/biotechnology either at one go, or after a year, do so without laboratory experience — render Regulation 4 (2) (a) to that extent arbitrary…”

Senior counsel Vikas Singh and advocate T Singhdev have contested the decision, saying that the NEET system regulates the entry of candidates into the field of medical education, and allows for students only with the necessary proficiency to gain entry.

Updated Date: August 21, 2018 12:22:48 IST

HC directs Kaloji University to admit foreigner in MBBS course

HC directs Kaloji University to admit foreigner in MBBS course

Marri Ramu

HYDERABAD , JANUARY 02, 2021 21:39 IST

Varsity denied admission as student failed to give proof of ‘qualification’

Telangana High Court has directed Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences to give admission in M.B.B.S. course to an NRI who was denied medical seat stating that she had no proof of study of biological sciences in her qualifying examination.

A bench of Justices M.S. Ramachandra Rao and T. Amarnath Goud, pronouncing judgment, said the student P. Srikerti Reddy should be given medical seat forthwith without insisting for proof that she studied biological sciences in qualifying exam. The judgment also declared the university’s action of treating the student ineligible for admission as arbitrary and illegal.

The student, whose father is of Indian origin, completed 12th standard at Conrad high school under West Hartford Board Education, Connecticut in the US. She appeared for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) under graduate exam in foreign national category. Her all India rank was 4,82,207.

On December 12, 2020, the university said she was ineligible for admission in MBBS course as she had no proof of studying biological sciences in the qualifying examination (for Indians it is Intermediate or CBSE plus two).

She moved the HC challenging the university’s decision. The petitioner’s counsel presented to the court that School Counsellor of Conard high school issued a certificate on December 11, 2020 stating that the student had appeared for Advanced Placement Biology course. Subjects of bio-chemistry, cellular biology, organism biology, population biology, Evolution, Genetics and Ecology were covered in deep in that course.

She also presented a certificate issued by Consulate General of India, New York, endorsing that her 12-year high school diploma in the US was recognised in India as equivalent to two-year Pre University Course (present Intermediate programme). Another certificate issued by Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education confirming the 12th class/senior secondary examination of West Hartford Board of Education, Connecticut, USA, was equivalent to Intermediate course.

As per the university’s notification for admissions, the student had uploaded the equivalent certificate issued by Intermediate Board. Additional Advocate General J. Ramchandra Rao contended that the student had not studied biological sciences, physics and chemistry in 11th and 12th standards as required. She studied biological sciences only in tenth standard, Mr. Rao argued. The certificate issued by Intermediate Board did not specifically say that she studied those subjects in 11th and 12th standards, he told the court.

The bench noted that the university did not cite this as reason making her ineligible for admission. It only stated that there was “no proof of study of biological sciences subject in qualifying examinations”. The validity of the equivalence certificate issued by the Intermediate Board was also not mentioned.

The university cannot improve and add new grounds to make her ineligible for admission, the bench said.

HC clears decks for MBBS admission to NRI

HC clears decks for MBBS admission to NRI

TNN | Jan 3, 2021, 04.04 AM IST

Hyderabad: Telangana high court has directed Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) to grant admission to MBBS course to an Indian-American girl student with roots in Warangal under NRI quota meant for foreign nationals in the ongoing counselling session. The girl, Srikeerthi Reddi Pingle, was born and brought up in the US.

The court said KNRUH cannot set new guidelines that were not put forward by the authorities of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) for giving admission to foreign nationals. The state government is thinking in terms of preferring an appeal against this order.

A division bench of justices MS Ramachandra Rao and T Amarnath Goud pronounced this order after hearing a petition filed by Srikeerthi, a native of Parkal in Warangal. Her father VR Reddi Pingle had settled down in the US long ago. Srikeerthi completed her class XII in Conard High School under West Hartford Board of Education, Connecticut. Aspiring to secure admission to the medicine course, she had appeared for NEET (hall ticket No. 4205004360) in the foreign nationals category. She secured an all-India rank of 4,82,207 (category rank No. 1,59,648).

However, Kaloji university (on December 12, 2020) rejected her candidature on the ground that she did not study biological sciences at the Intermediate level which, it said, was the pre-requisite for securing admission to MBBS course. “She may have studied biological sciences at the class X level, but that does not fit into our book of rules which say that an aspirant should have passed his or her Intermediate with biological sciences, physics and chemistry,” additional advocate general J Ramachandra Rao, who appeared for the university, said.

Petitioner’s counsel Vedula Srinivas, however, told the court that the school counsellor of Conard High School had issued a certificate on December 11, stating that she had taken the advanced placement biology course and studied topics like biochemistry, cellular biology, organismal biology, population biology, evolution, genetics and ecology in the10th grade itself.

“She had also submitted a letter signed by the supervisor of the West Hartford science department certifying her academic credentials to this effect,” the counsel pointed out. The Consulate General of India, New York, had also issued a letter on Dec 22 certifying that the 12th year high school diploma obtained by the petitioner in the US is equivalent to Intermediate study in India. “Even the TSBIE (on Dec 23) issued an equivalence certificate stating that what Srikeerthi studied at West Hartford Board is equal to Intermediate in Telangana,” Srinivas contended.

At this, the judges said the rules pertaining to foreign nationals clearly provide space for equivalence certificate. “Since Srikeerthi had got a certificate from the TSBIE itself, there is no reason why new objections should be raised. Though the candidate satisfied this criterion, the officials are now citing a new ground that she did not study biology at class XII level,” the bench said.

Declaring such argument as untenable, the judges directed the university to provide her admission under the NRI quota.

Why you should let your doctor decide when to treat high BP

Why you should let your doctor decide when to treat high BP

By Dr Hemant Thacker

03.01.2021

Across the world, high blood pressure (BP) is the most common disease requiring a medical prescription. Medically, it is called hypertension, but unfortunately it is often misread as “hyper” tension or increased mental anxiety when it is really a medical condition, not a personality issue. And while it has a definite genetic slant, hypertension is precipitated and perpetuated by bad lifestyle.

In the years since the estimation of blood pressure by the cuff started, different medical and heart associations have defined and redefined the range of normal and abnormal BP values. The most commonly accepted “normal” value is 120/80 (systolic/ diastolic), with lower values being acceptable in younger age groups.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) has set the cutoff for the diagnosis of hypertension at 130/80, while the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has set it at 140/90. The Cardiological Society of India has taken a practical stand, setting 130/80 as the baseline for those under 60 years of age, and 140/90 for those above.

We need to understand that these values were arrived at after collating data from clinical trials and real-world evidence. The different associations only differ in their approach to reining in the problem.

Dr Luke Laffin, director of cardiac rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic, says Americans chose to set the bar at 130/80, mainly to shake off the clinical inertia that exists in the minds of clinicians when a patient comes in at, say, 134/85. Laffin said, clinically, he was happy to go along with the ESC recommendations, but the stringent ACC guidelines were sacrosanct, especially for people who had comorbidities or associated heart, kidney or other conditions.

However, for young people with 134/82 and no other issues, he was happy to watch their response to lifestyle, dietary and weight modifications. He said 70% of such patients were able to control their BP with these changes. Drug intervention was indicated only when such non-pharmacological measures failed and patients started drifting towards 140/90.

In the Indian context, too, cardiologists were unanimous about the lower bar to not miss out the growing number of young patients advancing towards hypertension.

This made a very good compromise between the two continents where high-risk patients are definitely checked in at 130/80. The moderate to severe patients are now prescribed dual- and even triple-combination therapy.

By using different groups of anti-hypertensive agents in therapeutic doses, with no excess dose of a single agent, the aim is to deliver optimum benefit with minimal side effects. The reliance on lifestyle modification in the young is of paramount importance as hypertension happens a decade earlier in our country.

The aim of this piece is to inform you that hypertension is a function of many variables and while doctors may aim at a number, they finally treat the patient. Let your physician decide your goal and do not extrapolate from numbers a friend pulled out of thin air for you.

(Dr Hemant Thacker is a consultant physician & cardiometabolic specialist affiliated to Times Group, where he renders in-house medical help and also advocates medical education.

Email:dochpt@gmail.com)

HC: Marriage certificate sans emblem not invalid

HC: Marriage certificate sans emblem not invalid

Vasantha.Kumar@timesgroup.com

03.01.2021

Bengaluru: Merely because there is no image of the state emblem printed on a marriage certificate, it cannot be considered invalid, the high court has observed.

The court rejected an appeal filed by a man, challenging his conviction by a Mangaluru court for offences under IPC sections 498A (subjecting wife to cruelty) and 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace).

Based on the complaint by his wife Shobha from Shivanagar in Alape village, Mangaluru, that her husband assaulted her and married another woman, Sadananda Naik from Karwase village in Karkala taluk was held guilty by a trial court. He was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000.

A sessions court affirmed the verdict on March 29, 2011. Naik had moved the high court, stating he had not married Shobha and contended that the certificate produced was suspicious as it lacked the emblem.

However, Justice HB Prabhakara Sastry pointed out though the document doesn’t contain the emblem as per the format of Form 2A, it still has all other necessary details, including the title showing it as the certificate issued by government and stamp of the marriage officer.

The judge noted that even under section 8 of the KMRM Act, it is stated that non-registration would not invalidate any marriage. The wedding was solemnized between the complainant and the accused on February 3, 2006 and registered before the Registrar of Marriages on March 21, 2007, and it was proved by photographs and evidence of witnesses. The evidence showed the accused married Jyoti at Mahalingeshwara temple in Karkala and it was his second marriage, the judge added.

MTC resumes direct buses from Avadi to Tambaram via Guindy

MTC resumes direct buses from Avadi to Tambaram via Guindy

Nearly two years after terminating direct bus services between Tambaram and Avadi via Guindy, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) recently resumed the services.

Published: 02nd January 2021 06:37 AM 

Chennai MTC bus getting ready at Pallavan House to start operations. 

By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Nearly two years after terminating direct bus services between Tambaram and Avadi via Guindy, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) recently resumed the services.

Route number 70, which connected western parts of the Chennai suburban region and southwestern parts, was terminated and converted into two services Avadi-CMBT (70A) and CMBT-Tambaram (70C) two years ago. However, a year later, direct services from Avadi to Tambaram (No 202) were introduced via Pattabiram, Pettai and Chembarambakkam. 

“The ‘70’ bus service between Avadi and Tambaram has been resumed to cater to college students. The bus will run via CMBT, Ashok Pillar and Guindy,” said an MTC official.

Similarly, 47J, which was operated from Adyar to JJ East, will be terminated at JJ West, sources added.

ஒரே நாள்... ஒரே கிழமை... 1971 மற்றும் 2021ம் ஆண்டு காலண்டர் அதிசயம்

2021-01-02@ 16:57:33

நாகர்கோவில்: மனித சரித்திரத்தில் மறக்க முடியாத பதிவை 2020ம் ஆண்டு ஏற்படுத்தி உள்ளது. கொரோனா வைரஸ் பரவல், புயல்களின் தொடர் தாக்குதல், போர்கள் என சாமானியர்கள் முதல் செல்வந்தவர்கள் வரை அனைத்து தரப்பினரையும் சுமார் ஒரு வருடம் வீட்டிலேயே முடக்கி வைத்தது. மேலும் பல முக்கிய தலைவர்களின் உயிரை பறித்தது. பலர் வறுமையிலும், பலர் உறவுகளை இழந்த சோகத்திலும், பலர் வேலையிழப்பிலும் அவதிப்பட்டனர். இந்த நிலையில் 2021ம் ஆண்டு பிறந்துள்ளது. இந்த ஆண்டு ஆறுதலான ஆண்டாக இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பதே அனைவரின் ஏக்கமாக உள்ளது. இதற்கிடையே 2021ம் ஆண்டு ‘காலண்டர் அதிசய’ ஆண்டாக அமைந்துள்ளது.

கடந்த ஐம்பது வருடத்திற்கு முன்பு உள்ள 1971ம் ஆண்டு காலண்டரும், 2021ம் ஆண்டு காலண்டரும். ஒரே மாதிரி அமைந்துள்ளது. இரு ஆண்டும் நாள், தேதி ஒத்திருக்கிறது. பண்டிகை நாள்களும் ஓரளவு ஒத்திருக்கிறது. 50 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு பின் அதே காலண்டர் திரும்பி வந்தாலும் மனித வாழ்வும், நாட்டு நடப்பும், கலாச்சாரமும் முற்றிலும் மாறியுள்ளது. 1971 போல மனிதன் திரும்ப மாற முடியாது. அன்று மாட்டு வண்டிக்கு முக்கியத்துவம், இன்று கம்ப்யூட்டருக்கு முக்கியத்துவம். அன்று மனிதன் இயற்கை உணவுகள் சாப்பிட்டான், இன்று செயற்கை உணவு வகைகளையும் சாப்பிட்டு வருகிறான்.