NEET state ranks not out, candidates in dark

NEET state ranks not out, candidates in dark

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:25.10.2020  

More than a week after NEET 2020 results were released, medical aspirants said they are yet to get information on their state ranks — vital statistics that will help them make smart choices when locking seats during the centralised online counselling by the Directorate General of Health Sciences (DGHS). As per schedule, students will have to start locking their choice of colleges from Tuesday.

The National Testing Agency, which conducted the entrance test, had released students’ scores along with their all-India rank. “Students will be able to use this information for admission in central universities in the counselling conducted by the Medical Counselling Committee, but they will be shooting in the dark when they opt for seats in government colleges or deemed universities,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students on medical and dental admissions. Some meritorious students may not get admission in colleges of their choice and many may lose the chance of admission, he said, demanding transparency from the central agency.

For instance, the state surrenders about 37 of the 250 seats in Madras Medical College to the DGHS. While top 37 students will get admission, the student ranking 38 may have to wait for state counselling for admission at the same college or they will be allotted their next choice. “When allotted their next choice, students don’t know if they should accept it or wait,” said R Saranya, a parent. In 2018, Saranya’s niece had to join Omandurar Medical College Hospital though she was among the top 70 students in the state.

While NTA officials said the data will be sent to all state governments, the state selection committee in TN said it is yet to receive any information from the agency. “Students here usually know their status once we put out the state merit list based on applications we receive,” said committee secretary Dr G Selvarajan. By then, the two rounds of counselling for the all-India quota is likely to be completed.

On Saturday, parents’ groups were putting out data they received from different tutorials on social media with a disclaimer that it would be risky to rely on it. Guessing the percentage based on the previous year’s cut-offs is often misleading. “Last year, the cut-offs went up by nearly 100 marks,” said S Vishwanthan, whose son is awaiting MBBS admission this year. “My son has scored above 550 marks this year, but I don’t know if he is eligible for a seat in a government college or self-financing college. I don’t want to make a wrong choice in the first round, but his counsellors say many students with similar scores will wait. That will push up the cut-off for the second round,” he said.

Ranks help them make smart choices when locking seats during the centralised online counselling by the Directorate General of Health Sciences