NMC introduces seat upgrade option in the third counselling round Candidates can enrol in the medical college of their choice if they are not satisfied with the ones allotted in earlier rounds

NMC introduces seat upgrade option in the third counselling round Candidates can enrol in the medical college of their choice if they are not satisfied with the ones allotted in earlier rounds

Sonal.Srivastava@timesofindia.com 16.09.2024 

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) recently released a list of 6,947 virtual vacancies for MBBS, BDS, and BSc Nursing admissions for the second round of counselling. Earlier, students were allowed to apply for a seat upgrade only in the first and second rounds. To increase flexibility and transparency, the National Medical Commission (NMC) will also allow candidates to opt for an upgrade in the third round of counselling.

A virtual seat is created in a medical college when the candidate who has been allotted that seat decides to opt for a seat upgrade in the next round of counselling. Once the candidates get the upgrade/seat of their choice, the seat allotted earlier becomes a clear vacancy and will be allotted to the next candidate on the rank list. This year several virtual seats have been added to medical colleges across various states and Union Ter ritories, including Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi (NCT), Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal. 

“Virtual vacancies are not clear vacancies; they are not vacated yet. If somebody is holding a seat and wants to upgrade to a better college/seat, that seat will be marked as a virtual vacancy. Only when the candidate who has asked for an upgrade gets an upgraded seat will his/her seat become a clear vacancy. If the candidate does not get a seat, his seat will not be allocated to another candidate.

Virtual vacancies are those where the person holding the seat vacates it for a higher seat,” says Dr B Srinivas, secretary, NMC. Students had the upgrade option for the first and second counselling rounds for the last few years, but from this year onwards, candidates will be able to apply for the seat upgrade after the third round of counselling, too. 

“Choice filling is left to the students, and they can opt for as many seats as they want. The idea is that the seats should not remain vacant. If the candidates go for an upgrade, then vacant seats should be filled,” says Dr Srinivas. Govt seats fill up first He points out that seats in government colleges are the first to be taken. Most seats remain vacant in private colleges, or NRI seats might get fewer takers. “Allowing candidates to upgrade seats enhances student mobility. They can either choose a government college or a private one,” says Dr Srinivas. The reason for the introduction of the virtual vacancies was to prevent seats from being wasted.

“Virtual vacancy is a good option to prevent the seats from remaining vacant in prestigious colleges. It increases accessibility in the admission process, reduces the paperwork, and provides a clear picture to candidates. However, technical issues might cause unnecessary problems. It is essential that all candidates know about virtual vacancies; often, candidates in rural areas are not aware of these vacancies and lose the opportunity. Another challenge is that if the deemed or private colleges get to know about the candidate leaving the institute, they might force the candidate to apply for the next round, so they can use his seat for their stray vacancy round,” says Dr KM Abul Hasan, chairman, IMA Junior Doctor’s Network.

Students with lower NEET scores may get preference in R2

Students with lower NEET scores may get preference in R2

Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com 15.09.2024 

Chennai : The state committee for medical admission’s bid to keep the counselling process simple and quick may end up giving medical college seats to candidates with lower NEET scores. While authorities say this is the only way to address the multiple upgradation requests from those allotted seats in the first round, and the system getting bogged down in an infinite loop, experts say it will undermine inter-se merit and be in violation of Supreme Court orders.

 The state committee, which conducts counselling for the state quota of seats in govt medical colleges and all seats in self-financing medical colleges, has completed admission for round 1 based on NEET and the rule of reservation. As more than 1,000 seats are vacant because students have opted to take “free exit,” some students opted for an upgrade in the second round. If seats in colleges of choice are available, students who opted to upgrade will be accommodated.

This, in turn, will leave a vacancy in their previously chosen institutions. For instance, if a student allotted to Govt Stanley Medical College opts to upgrade to Madras Medical College, the seat in Stanley will be vacant. That’s when the problems arise. The selection committee has told participants that the allotment to this seat will be made in “descending order, not in ascending order.” That is, the next available student who asks for the seat will get it, even if there are students with higher marks waiting for the same seat. “If a student with rank 100 is moved to MMC from Stanley and a student with rank 101 is asking for a seat in Stanley, he or she will get it even if a student with rank 97 or 98 is waiting for the seat,” said a senior official in the state selection committee.

 “I have said it in a simple way; usually, there are multiple requests for an upgrade. The system goes into a loop and reaches a point of an infinite loop. When this happens, the system does not work. There is no allocation of seats. So, we decided to keep programming less complicated,” said a senior official. Students and parents, however, argue that they must look at options to prevent looping. “The  infinite loop is because of infinite options. Students must not be allowed a free exit. 

A student who is allowed to exit must not be allowed to participate in the counselling process. If this happens, upgrades will come down and reduce the risk of infinite looping,” said Raguram R, whose son is awaiting medical admissions this year. Student counsellors such as Manikavel Arumugam point out that allotments based on descending order will violate the Supreme Court mandate. “This will lead to needless litigation again,” he said. “The counselling process must be simple and transparent,” he said.

NMC raises bank guarantee for new medical colleges

NMC raises bank guarantee for new medical colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Ahmedabad : The National Medical Commission (NMC) has recently announced a significant increase in the performance bank guarantees (PBG) required for establishing new undergraduate and postgraduate medical colleges, applicable from the academic year 2025-26. This marks the first time the commission has implemented a hike and introduced varying PBG amounts based on the number of admission seats, as noted by experts.

 According to a notice issued by the NMC on Sep 2, medi cal colleges seeking to admit 50 MBBS students will need to provide a bank guarantee of Rs 15 crore for a six-year period. Institutions aiming to admit 100 MBBS students will be required to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 20 crore for the same duration. If a college wishes to secure an additional 50 seats, an extra bank guarantee of Rs 5 crore will be necessary. For colleges intending to admit 150 MBBS students, the bank guarantee has been set at Rs 25 crore for the six-year tenure. 

The notice also specifies the rates for postgraduate degrees and higher specialiti es. “For a single PG degree or higher speciality course, the bank guarantee is set at Rs 2 crore for a tenure of four years. Any additional PG degree or higher speciality course will require a bank guarantee of Rs 25 lakh per course seat, also valid for a 4-year tenure.” The increase in bank guarantees is expected to result in an investment of approximately Rs 300 crore to Rs 350 crore for setting up a new medical college, which experts believe will make it nearly impossible for smaller trusts to establish new medical educational institutions. However, they have clarified that this will not lead to any fee increase for students.

Nearly 75% govt MBBS seats vacant after first round of counselling

Nearly 75% govt MBBS seats vacant after first round of counselling 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai : Nearly three of every four all-India quota MBBS seats in govt colleges across the country are vacant after the first round of counselling conducted by the directorate general of health services. These students have exercised the option of “free exit” and can apply again in the subsequent rounds of counselling under the state or central quota. Counselling for admission to undergraduate medical seats is conducted online by a medical counselling committee.

 Every year, states surrender 15% of MBBS seats from state-run medical colleges for admission through the India quota. In Tamil Nadu, 597 (77%) of the 771 seats surrendered are vacant. Seats in premium govt medical colleges in Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore are vacant. Among the 174 students who have joined medical colleges, only 38 have retained their seats. The remaining 136 have asked for an upgrade to another college of their choice. These students will be moved to the college of their choice in R2 if they are placed. 

Across the country, 5,768 out of 7,918 seats in govt colleges are vacant. Among the 2,150 candidates who have joined seats allotted to them, 1,530 have opted for an upgrade. Along with AIQ, the committee conducts counselling for admission to central institutions, central and deemed universities. In deemed universities, where the fee for the entire course is anywhere between ₹80 lakh and ₹1.5 crore, nearly 67% of seats were taken. Data showed 14% of MBBS seats in central institutes/universities, including AIIMS and JIPMER, and 11% in ESIC medical colleges were vacant. “A large percentage of people who have joined deemed universities haven’t opted for other universities.

This may be because students who know they may not get seats in govt or self-financing colleges have decided to stay in deemed universities. Also, cut-off has increased in all colleges, including deemed universities,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students on admissions. Students who didn’t take AIQ seats can apply for the second round in both state and central quotas. “It is unfair to let students drop the seats. They get allotted to a college only if they opt  for it,” said Pradeep Kumar, whose nephew is awaiting MBBS admission. “Just because they scored high, doesn’t mean they can block seats like this. This doesn’t happen in any other counselling. During admissions for IITs or IISCR after JEE, students must take the seat they are given and apply for an upgrade in further rounds. If they don’t, they must exit counselling.”

High cutoffs, NEET woes goad students in K’taka to grab what’s offered

High cutoffs, NEET woes goad students in K’taka to grab what’s offered

SruthySusan.Ullas@timesofindia.com 

Bengaluru : The high cutoffs in NEET ranks for MBBS admissions this year have forced students into accepting whatever seat comes their way — regardless of fees or the quality of the institution — amid fears that the competition could get fiercer next year. Counsellors confirmed that students want to hold on to the seat they get and choose not to opt for a gap year.

 There were many students who were expecting a Rs 1.5-lakh fee seat but have landed a general merit private seat (a private seat in a private college) with Rs 12 lakh fee. They do not want to give that up now. They are ready to take it even if it means selling property to raise funds. Those who had prepared for a Rs 12-lakh seat are ready for a Rs 20-lakh seat and so on,” said Raghavendra Hegde, founder of RH MedTech Mentor that provides counselling guidance for NEET and K-CET. 

College quality,  ‘Students not even looking at college quality’ 

This year, there has been a big jump in the number of students who scored more than 600 marks in Karnataka. Last year, the number of students in this range was around 1,500 to 1,800. But this year, it is around more than 4,300. The fear is that next year the competition could get worse. They are worried as to what may happen next year — will NTA bring in changes, will it become two exams a year, will the exam pattern change? 

The consensus among students and parents is we will arrange money for private seats in private colleges, come what may,” he said. Agreed Ali Khwaja, founder director of Banjara Academy: “Those students who would have taken a gap year to improve the ranks do not want to do so. 

They are either moving into engineering or taking whatever MBBS seat comes by. They are not even looking at the quality of the colleges. They have already gone through the trauma of uncertainties this time, with the exam nearly getting cancelled.” Khwaja said it is disappointing that students are not open to the idea of paramedical courses, which are equally attractive and rewarding. As per the counsellors, this is also one of the reasons why the cutoffs of GMP seats (general merit private seats) are going up. 

“The cutoff mark for general merit pri vate seats this year is 562 as against 476-479 last year,” said Hegde. The high cutoffs are having a ripple effect on BDS admissions. “Competition is getting tougher by the day. NEET is being taken by a record number of students every year,” he said.

Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Land dispute costs students MBBS seats

Decision To Halt Admission At Kanyakumari College Follows NMC Directive To TN 

PushpaNarayan@timesofindia.com 

Chennai : The Tamil Nadu Medical Selection Committee has withdrawn the provisional MBBS allotments made to students at Kanyakumari Medical Mission Research Centre, a private university, for 2024-25. The decision comes after the National Medical Commission asked the state govt not to admit students during the ongoing counselling till further notice since the permission granted to the univer sity to start the MBBS course with 100 seats has been put on hold. 

The state will accommodate five govt school students who were admitted through the 7.5% quota. The provisional admission given to 95 other students has been with drawn. “We have given appointment orders to five govt school students under the 7.5% govt quota. We will accommodate them in other colleges. The number of seats will be adjusted next year,” he said. The results of round 1 allotment for the remaining 95 seats -under the state quota and management quota -have been cancelled as the committee had offered only provisional admissions, he said. Later in the evening, the state released the revised allotment after withdrawing 100 seats from the seat matrix. 

"Students have been allotted seats based on their merit in NEET and the rule of reservation," officials said. On Friday, NMC told the state govt that the private university, which submitted its application for the establishment of a new medical college, was granted permission on Aug 10 for 100 seats, NMC, in a communication to the state, said. In the meantime, the apex body has received a writ  petition filed by M/s. Michael Builders and Developers Pvt. Ltd. before the Delhi High Court contesting the college's claim to the land. The company has attached a district court order too. The NMC said it had put the “letter of permission” granted to the college for 100 MBBS seats on hold

30 government school students in Pudukkottai secure medical admission under 7.5 per cent quota

30 government school students in Pudukkottai secure medical admission under 7.5 per cent quota

Their success is a result of hard work and the solid foundation laid by their teachers," said District Chief Education Officer K Shanmugam.

Keeramangalam school alone has seen 23 of its students secure medical seats over the past four years, including four this year.

Updated on:
24 Aug 2024, 7:48 am

PUDUKKOTTAI: Around 30 government school students from Pudukkottai have secured admissions to various medical colleges across the state under the 7.5% quota. Of these, 25 opted for MBBS while three have chosen BDS.

Though many students cleared in their second or third attempts, it a significant achievement as a majority of them hail from rural and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. "All the students come from rural backgrounds.

Their success is a result of hard work and the solid foundation laid by their teachers," said District Chief Education Officer K Shanmugam. Among the success stories is R Abhinaya, the daughter of a domestic worker and a student of the government girls higher secondary school in Keeramangalam.

"With the help of a mobile phone my mother purchased, I prepared for NEET by watching educational channels on YouTube. My school teachers were always there to support me," she said.

According to district-level officials of the education department, the number of government school students securing medical seats has seen a slight increase in Pudukkottai in recent years, particularly since the introduction of the 7.5% reservation in the 2020-21 academic year.

Keeramangalam school alone has seen 23 of its students secure medical seats over the past four years, including four this year. N Vallinayaki, headmistress of the Keeramangalam school, pointed out that Abhinaya couldn't afford any private coaching classes for the last two years since she completed schooling.

"We consistently followed up, gave study materials and encouraged her to not give up," she said. Similarly, five students of the government higher secondary school in Vayalogam of Illupur taluk have secured MBBS admission this year, compared to three last year. Y Jayaraj, headmaster of the school, said, "We identify students and give them special coaching with the help of high-tech labs. Every evening we conduct tests.

For Class 12 students, we make sure they attend taluk-level classes where they get more exposure." "Many who secured seats this year are repeaters. The high cost of private coaching has created a barrier, leading many students to lose motivation despite having the potential to succeed," he added.

CUTOFFS FOR MBBS/BDS ADMISSIONS SET TO RISE As Students Raise The Bar, Competition Gets Tougher;

CUTOFFS FOR MBBS/BDS ADMISSIONS SET TO RISE As Students Raise The Bar, Competition Gets Tougher;

 Cutoffs May Go Up By 50 To 100 Marks

 Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com TIMES OF INDIA 20.08.2024 

 Cutoffs for MBBS/ BDS admissions to govt colleges in Tamil Nadu are likely to increase by up to 50 marks for the open category and more than 100 marks for some reserved categories this year as the number of top scorers in NEET 2024 is higher than NEET 2023. The MBBS/BDS rank list for 2024 admissions, released on Monday by health minister Ma Subramanian, showed 90 students from the state scored above 700 out of 720 marks in NEET 2024. Last year, 29 students and, in 2022, five students had done this. 

This year,1,446 students scored above 650 marks compared to 379 in 2023 and 199 in 2022. As many as 4,729 students scored above 600 compared to 1,538 in 2023. Those with marks above 500 nearly doubled to 13,176 compared to 6,449 last year. Year after year, students from Tamil Nadu have raised the bar. 

“We have vehemently opposed NEET for various reasons,” Subramanian said. “But students, including those from govt schools, have improved scores. While we continue our fight against NEET, we will ensure students are trained well to compete for the exam,” he said. 

Rajaneesh P from Villupuram was one of 17 students across the country who got a perfect 720/720. Eight TN candidates got 715 marks and one scored 710. The improvement was sharper for students who passed out of govt schools. Roobika P from Krishnagiri topped with 699 marks. In 2023, the top score under this category was 569 marks, and in 2022, it was 518. Gayathridevi M from Salem scored 668, and Anushiya S from Tiruvannamalai and Rathish G from Namakkal 665 each. There were 2,767 students with scores above 300 compared to 1,170 last year and 250 students in 2022. Analysts say the overall cutoff for the open category in govt colleges is likely to be above 650 marks, which is nearly 50 marks more than in 2023. 

In the BC category, it is likely to increase by up to 62 marks. The cutoff is likely to go up by around 100 marks for the ST category in govt colleges. “There is crowding at the top this year,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “This means more students from Tamil Nadu will gain admission to central institutions and under the all India quota for state colleges. Students must explore opportunities in central institutions such as AIIMS-Delhi, JIPMER, or Armed Forces Medical Colleges. And if they don’t wish to move out of Tamil Nadu, they should opt for seats through the all-India quota,” he said. 

More than 70% on list repeaters 

More than 70% of candidates on the state rank list for MBBS/BDS admissions were repeaters, selection committee officials announced on Monday. Of the 28,819 applicants in govt quota, 7,791 were freshers and 21,028 were repeaters. “The percentage of repeaters may increase in the admission list. Repeaters have better experience and training. So, most of them manage to get better scores and secure admissions,” a senior official said. In 2023, 31% were firsttimers, 40% attempted for a second time and 21% for a third. About 2% had attempted more than five times. “There were also those who made seven attempts,” he said. Most firsttimers who fail to get a seat take a gap year to prepare. “It’s almost impossible to secure good marks without attending special coaching. This is one of the reasons why we oppose NEET,” said health minister Ma Subramanian. In the 7.5% govt quota list, all students on the 2024 top 10 list were repeaters. Fewer than 10% of govt students make it to the rank list on the first attempt.