PG med admissions see 45 out of 140 turn up

Bosco Dominique

Puducherry





Just 45 of the 140 students, who were called by the centralised admission committee (Centac) for counselling for admissions into postgraduate medical courses offered by the lone government medical college, private medical colleges and deemed universities, appeared on May 4. Forty-one of them were offered seats in the colleges. A majority of the students (95) did not appear for counselling as the government has not fixed the fees for the postgraduate medical programmes in private colleges.The fees committee constitu ted by the government has not submitted its recommendations on fee structures in the private colleges.
Centac has sent call letters to another 127 students to appear for counselling on the second and final day of the first round of counselling on May 5.

Meanwhile, all private medical colleges and deemed universities have declared that they will not surrender 50% of their postgraduate seats to the government. Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute and Sri Venkateswara Medical College claimed that as they fall under the category of `linguistic minority' institutions they need not surrender seats to the government. Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences declared that as it falls under religious minority category it will not surrender seats to the government. Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College too refused to surrender 50% seats under govern ment quota. Director (health and family welfare services) K V Raman, who confirmed that the directorate has received such communications from the private medical colleges and deemed universities, said the government will implement the directions of the Union government on admission of students in postgraduate medical programmes.

AIADMK (Amma) legislature party leader A Anbazhagan sought the immediate intervention of lt governor Kiran Bedi to ensure fixing of fee structures of postgraduate medical and dental programmes in private colleges at the earliest.