PG medical seat woes continue as govt. drags its feet
PUDUCHERRY, MAY 16, 2017 00:00 IST
Colleges refuse to obey government order on fees and turn candidates away while the Fee Committee is yet to meet
Candidates selected for PG medical seats through CENTAC stare at uncertainty with the Government of Puducherry remaining non-committal in ensuring their smooth admission into deemed universities and self-financing colleges.
Apart from extending the joining date to the PG medical courses for the state quota of self-financing colleges (and not deemed university) till Wednesday, the government has only announced a fee structure, which, on Monday, it claimed was only temporary as the Fee Committee is yet to meet.
Meanwhile, all the three self-financing colleges, including Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital and Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College and Hospital have turned away the candidates who went for admission with the Demand Draft (DD) despite the government order.
A candidate, seeking anonymity, said that when he went to the medical institution with the DD of Rs. 3 lakh as announced by the government for the government quota, he was sent back stating that he needs to pay Rs. 38 lakh.
The Chief Secretariat (Health), on May 14, 2017, passed an order fixing fee for the PG medical or dental courses for the academic year 2017-18. The order stated, “The Chairman, Fee Committee vide his letter has stated that as the Fee Committee in Puducherry is yet to meet and discuss the fee for the PG medical courses and the counselling has also begun, the fee fixed by the Tamil Nadu Fee Committee may be collected in Puducherry also, for the time being, by getting an undertaking from the student or parent that the fee is being collected subject to the fee that would be fixed by the Fee Committee, Puducherry.”
‘A temporary measure’
In view of the above, they fixed a fee structure as a ‘temporary measure’ that would be subject to revision. “Based on the order, we took the demand draft to the colleges. But, we were refused admission. We were waiting to meet the Chief Minister and Health Minister but were not given appointment till late Monday evening,” a candidate rued.
Another candidate added, “The institutions are disobeying the government order. Everyone came with Rs. 3 lakh but were turned away. What is the point in holding CENTAC counselling when the institutions have refused to abide by the rules?”
Even the deemed universities in Puducherry refused to accept the fees from the candidates who were selected through CENTAC for PG Medical courses. On Monday afternoon, the candidates who were denied admissions, staged a protest before the CENTAC office. Subsequently, the CENTAC office accepted the DD.
Out of the 76 candidates, only 12 had paid the fees to the CENTAC. Another candidate said that a deemed university had issued a slip to the candidates stating that in “all allotment letters the word ‘government quota’ should be removed, the student should be willing to pay the fee as notified by the institution in the website and the sealed buildings in our campus which are kept under lock and key should be re-opened and the building plan should be released at the earliest as confirmed by the health minister”.
A parent, who was waiting to meet the ministers at the Legislative Assembly, questioned how can counselling for medical colleges be conducted without the announcement of a fee structure? Even primary schools announce the fee structure before admission. “Since we were not aware of the fee structure, we chose a deemed university that is demanding Rs. 40 lakh per year. How can a person from middle class or lower middle class pay this huge amount? The government has let us down. We are angry with this government for not taking appropriate measures at the right time,” added the parent.
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