64-year-old Odisha man set to join MBBS after clearing NEET

64-year-old Odisha man set to join MBBS after clearing NEET

Satyasundar Barik

BHUBANESWAR

DECEMBER 25, 2020 19:49 IST

Jay Kishore Pradhan

The retired banker will be fulfilling the ambition he has been nurturing for decades

After 40 years of gruelling job and raising children, a sexagenarian is probably more inclined to spend times with grandchildren, play cards, get immersed in gardening or visit close relatives more frequently than before. However, a 64-year-old retired banker from Odisha has a different idea.

It may sound weird, but Jay Kishore Pradhan, born in 1956, has set out to become a doctor. He will formally start pursuing the four-year MBBS programme at the Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR), Burla, one of Odisha’s premier government-run health institutes, after taking admission on Monday.

Hailing from Atabira in Odisha’s Bargarh district, Mr. Pradhan has completed all formalities required for a new entrant to the MBBS programme. The senior citizen has been cleared of cardiology, pulmonary function and nephrology tests and allowed to study medicine.

Strange decision

He had retired as deputy manager in State Bank of India in 2016. The strange decision has surprised many, but Mr. Pradhan would actually be fulfilling the ambition he has been nurturing for decades.

“I had once appeared for the MBBS entrance examination just after my intermediate class in 1970s. I could not succeed then. I did not want to lose another year in preparation, so I joined B.Sc with Physics honours. Since then a sense of non-fulfilment keeps haunting me,” said Mr. Pradhan.

“Besides, I am indebted to medical science. My father was admitted to the college, where I would be studying, in 1982 for urinal ulcer. In 1987, he had undergone second surgery and was taken to Vellore for further treatment. As a result of successful treatment, my father survived till January 2010,” he narrated.

Strong desire

“The desire to study medicine was so strong that I was toying with the idea of taking voluntary retirement after 15 years of banking service. However, it was too risky to quit job keeping the family obligation in mind,” said Mr. Pradhan.

Subsequent to completion of graduation, he had joined as a part-time teacher in a local school before switching his job to telecom sector. Subsequently, he worked in Indian Bank. In 1983, Mr. Pradhan joined the SBI.

After staying away from active studies for four decades, how did the man find rhythm in preparation for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which is fairly a tough test to crack even for student of this generation?

Motivation from daughters

“I have twin daughters, who were preparing for medical entrance examinations. I had been assisting them in their preparation. As I was very good at memorising physics, chemistry and biology, my daughters motivated me to give it a try,” said the sexagenarian.

“In 2019, the Supreme Court had lifted the upper age limit for studying till further judgment. It helped me firm up my resolve to pursue my dream. I took it as a challenge to study MBBS,” said Mr. Pradhan. The man had secured rank 5,94,380 by scoring 175. Mr. Pradhan became eligible to take admission in VIMSAR in physically handicapped quota.

Since one of his daughters had unfortunate demise last month, the family could not rejoice the achievement the way it should have been celebrated. “I am determined to continue study medicine in memory of my daughter,” he said.

Mr. Pradhan would turn 69 when he would complete the MBBS programme. Asked whether he is keen to join any regular job as a doctor after studies, he said, “I have already passed the phase of joining any regular job. Whatever I would learn would during next five years, I would keep practising privately in rest of my life,” he said.

No age limit

At VIMSAR, Brajamohan Mishra, Dean and Principal, who would be age wise one-year senior to Mr. Pradhan, is at loss of words after coming across the unheard of feat. “As per Supreme Court order, there is no age limit to pursue studies. He has been declared medically fit. As a signature of notary was missing on certain document, he has been asked to furnish it on Monday and join the course,” said Dr. Mishra.

“I would consider him my classmate and it would be a new kind of experience for me. Our brains are matured. Given his passion for studying medicine, I hope he does not face any problem in following scientific subjects in MBBS programme,” said the VIMSAR Principal.

HC mulls special team to investigate NEET marks fraud

HC mulls special team to investigate NEET marks fraud

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:10.02.2021 

Why should a special investigation team (SIT) not be formed to probe allegations of answer sheet tampering in NEET, asked the Madras high court on Tuesday.

Justice B Pugalendhi made the observation while hearing a plea moved by K S Manoj, a student from Coimbatore, alleging that his answer sheet had been tampered and two different marks were found for his single answer sheet.

According to the answer sheet downloaded from the official NEET website on October 15, his score was 594. But as per the answer sheet made available on October 17, his mark was 248, he said. When the plea came up for hearing, additional solicitor general R Shankaranarayanan submitted that the National Information Commission (NIC) is the competent authority to probe the allegation.

The petitioner, however, said probe by an independent agency is required as the allegations point out irregularities in the entire examination system.Tothis,theASGsubmitted that all the sheets that are provided by the agency cannot be manipulated since they are chemically treated and that in this case, there are signatures of two separate invigilators and that requires a thorough investigation to establish the case. NIC is also an independent agency, he said.

Recording the submissions, the court wondered as to why an SIT comprising representatives from the CBI, NIC and the state government should not be constituted to probe the allegation. After the ASG submitted that there is no need for constitution of an SIT with a state representative, the court directed the petitioner and the National Testing Agency to file their respective written arguments and adjourned the plea to February18.

Reduce the cut-off by10 percentile points to help fill 7k BDS seats: SC

Reduce the cut-off by10 percentile points to help fill 7k BDS seats: SC

Says Reducing Qualifying Marks Doesn’t Lower Edu Standard

Dhananjay.Mahapatra@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:09.02.2021 

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that reducing the cut-off marks for admissions to courses does not lower the standards of education and overruled the Union government by directing lowering of qualifying marks by 10% percentile points to help private colleges fill nearly 7,000 BDS seats for the academic year 2020-21 by February 18.

A bench of Justices L N Rao and Krishna Murari accepted senior advocate Maninder Singh’s argument that the government could not have refused to accept Dental Council of India’s recommendations for lowering the qualifying marks by 20% percentile points on the ground that lowering the cut-off mark could have adverse impact on education standards. Singh had said the Union government had earlier accepted similar recommendations for lowering cut-off for super speciality courses in medical sciences.

Writing the judgment, Justice Rao said, “If reducing minimum marks amounts to lowering the standards, the Union government would not do so for super speciality courses. We are in agreement with Singh, counsel for the petitioners, that lowering the minimum marks and reducing the percentile for admission to the first-year BDS course would not amount to lowering the standards of education.” It ordered admissions to BDS courses strictly on merit and said the process of admission be completed by February 18.

The bench also found force in additional solicitor general Aishwarya Bhati’s argument that fees charged by private dental colleges were a deterrent in filling up seats. “Only 265 out of 7,000 vacant seats are in government colleges. All the other unfilled seats are in private dental colleges. The managements of private dental colleges shall consider reducing the fee charged by them to encourage students to join the colleges,” the SC said.

“We direct that the vacant seats in first year BDS course for the year 2020-2021 shall be filled up from candidates who have participated in NEET (UG) for the year 2020-2021 after lowering the percentile mark by10 percentile points,” it added.

This means general category candidates with 40 percentile points, SC/ST/OBCs with 30 percentile points and physically challenged candidates with 35 percentile points would be eligible for admission to BDS courses in government and private colleges.

Singh had relied on proceedings relating to lowering of minimum marks for super speciality courses for the year 2019-2020 and for admission in Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) - UG courses for the year 2020-2021. He argued that 7,000 seats in BDS courses were vacant and the available infrastructure would be wasted.

Bhati submitted that 7.71 lakh candidates were found to be eligible for filling up 82,000 MBBS and 28,000 BDS seats, thus for each vacant seat seven candidates were available. She said the Centre decided against lowering the qualifying marks as there were sufficient dentists in India.

Full report on www.toi.in

This means general category candidates with 40 percentile points, SC/ST/OBCs with 30 percentile points and physically challenged candidates with 35 percentile points would be eligible for admission to BDS courses in government and private colleges

NEET fraud: Dentist, daughter get bail

NEET fraud: Dentist, daughter get bail

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:03.02.2021

The Madras high court on Tuesday granted bail to a dentist and his MBBS aspirant daughter, who were arrested for forging NEET score to secure admission. Justice V Bharathidasan granted the relief while allowing the bail applications moved by K Balachandran and his daughter B Deeksha.

Balachandran and Deeksha, natives of Paramakudi, had allegedly forged the NEET scorecard and the provisional rank list to secure a medical seat for Deeksha. The girl had scored only 27 marks in the test, but appeared for the counselling claiming to be another aspirant, who had scored 610 marks. They submitted fake documents to the selection committee of the Directorate of Medical Education to support their claim. However, the committee found that the documents were forged and filed a complaint with the Periamet police. Subsequently, the father-daughter duo failed to appear before the investigating officer despite repeated summons. On January 2, Balachandran was arrested from Bengaluru. When the bail applications came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioners submitted that Balachandran has been in jail for over 30 days now and even custodial inquiry of the duo was over. They further submitted to abide by any condition imposed by the court to enlarge them on bail. Recording the same, the court granted the relief and directed Balachandran to appear before the investigation officer daily till further orders.

Balachandran and Deeksha had allegedly forged the NEET scorecard and the provisional rank list to secure a medical seat for Deeksha. The girl appeared for the counselling claiming to be another aspirant

Med aspirant who forged NEET score arrested

Med aspirant who forged NEET score arrested

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:19.01.2021

City police on Monday arrested an MBBS aspirant who with her father crashed medical counselling with a fake NEET scorecard and went absconding once the fraud came to light.

N B Deeksha of Paramakudi in Ramanathapuram district and her father Dr N K Balachandran, a dentist, had crashed a counselling session on November 30 and sought a seat showing a card with 610 NEET score. The authorities, who noticed discrepancies in records and ranklist, began questioning her and the fraud came to light. Deeksha and her father left the venue and have been in the hiding since.

Deeksha’s original NEET score was 27. Inquiries revealed that she had replaced the photo and roll number of another candidate N Krithika, who had scored 610 marks, and presented the scorecard as her’s.

While her father was arrested two weeks ago, Deeksha was secured from a hotel in the city where she had been staying with her family since the incident. Sources said she confessed to the crime and was remanded in judicial custody on Monday after being produced in front of a magistrate. The Periamet police have booked the duo under sections 419, 464, 465, 468, 47 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

High court asks Pondy to fix PG medical, dental course fees in deemed universities

High court asks Pondy to fix PG medical, dental course fees in deemed universities

Bosco.Dominique@timesgroup.com

Puducherry:16.01.2021

The long-drawn battle to regulate the fees in the deemed universities in the Union territory of Puducherry ended in favour of the student community with a Madras high court bench declaring that the government can fix fee for the postgraduate medical and dental courses offered by the universities.

Disposing of a public interest litigation filed by advocate V B R Menon, the Madras high court bench comprising justice T S Sivagnanam and justice V Bhavani Subbaroyan declared that the Puducherry fee committee shall fix the fee for postgraduate medical and dental courses from the academic year 2017-18 to 2020-21 in the deemed universities.

The fees shall be fixed on an ad-hoc basis until a committee constituted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) finalises the fee structure as per an order passed by the Supreme Court on April 15 in 2019. The Supreme Court, however, had directed the UGC committee not to implement the fee structure until further orders.

The bench also directed the National Medical Commission to determine the fee structure as per the NMC Act, 2019 for the academic year 2021-22. The Puducherry fee committee had fixed ₹5.5 lakh per annum as the fee under government quota and ₹14 lakh per annum under management quota in private medical colleges. However, deemed universities continued to charge nearly double the sum as fees, prompting Menon to file the PIL. The then first bench, while passing an order on June 16, 2017, opined that the fee collected by the deemed universities is 'unreasonably high, arbitrary and prohibitory.’ The PIL-petitioner had argued that many students, who had cleared the admission process, undergone counselling and allowed provisional admission have not been able to join by reason of their inability to deposit ₹40 lakh to ₹50 lakh at short notice and the seats are lying vacant.

The court said erstwhile members of the Centralized Admission Committee (Centac), Puducherry and erstwhile officials of the directorate of health and family welfare services had wrongly interpreted legal position against the interest of the student community. It said the decision was overruled by the Supreme Court and, therefore, the view of the Centac members and health officials are 'non-est, in so far as it relates to the prescription of fees by the deemed universities'. The CBI, anti-corruption branch (ACB), Chennai, which booked 13 people, including government officials, on charges of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct by a public servant in September 2017, later said that 'no action is contemplated against six government officials - the then Centac chairman, the then director (health and family welfare), the then secretary (health), the then Centac convener, the then Centac joint convener and the then Centac coordinator.

நீட் மதிப்பெண் வேறுபாட்டை எதிர்த்து வழக்கு: மாணவரைக் கல்லூரியில் சேர்க்க உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு

நீட் மதிப்பெண் வேறுபாட்டை எதிர்த்து வழக்கு: மாணவரைக் கல்லூரியில் சேர்க்க உயர் நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு

case-against-neet-score-difference-high-court-order-to-admit-student-to-college

நீட் மதிப்பெண் முதலில் 594 ஆகவும், 12 நாளில் 248 ஆகவும் இரு வேறாக தவறாக வெளியானதாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட மாணவர் தொடர்ந்த வழக்கில், அவருக்கு மருத்துவப் படிப்பில் இடம் வழங்க நீதிபதி உத்தரவிட்டார். மாணவரின் தகவல் தவறாக இருந்தால் படிப்பைக் கைவிட வேண்டி இருக்கும், சட்ட விளைவுகளைச் சந்திக்க வேண்டி இருக்கும் என நீதிபதி எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.

கடந்த ஆண்டின் நீட் தேர்வு விடைத்தாள்களை தேசிய தேர்வு முகமை கடந்த அக்டோபர் 5-ம் தேதி வெளியிட்டபோது, கோவையைச் சேர்ந்த மனோஜ் என்ற மாணவர் 700க்கு 594 மதிப்பெண்கள் பெற்றதாகப் பதிவாகி இருந்தது. இந்நிலையில், அக்டோபர் 17-ம் தேதி 248 மதிப்பெண்கள் மட்டுமே அம்மாணவர் பெற்றதாக இணையதளத்தில் பதிவேற்றம் செய்யப்பட்டதாகக் கூறப்படுகிறது.

இரு பட்டியலையும் ஸ்கிரீன் ஷாட் எடுத்த மாணவர் மனோஜ், தனக்கு மதிப்பெண்கள் குறைத்து வழங்கப்பட்டதை எதிர்த்து சென்னை உயர் நீதிமன்றத்தில் வழக்குத் தொடர்ந்தார். அந்த வழக்கை விசாரித்த உயர் நீதிமன்றம், மனுதாரர் சமர்ப்பித்த தரவுகளை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டு விரிவாக விசாரணை நடத்தி அறிக்கை தாக்கல் செய்ய தேசிய தேர்வு முகமைக்கு உத்தரவிட்டிருந்தது.

இந்த வழக்கு நீதிபதி பி.புகழேந்தி முன்பு மீண்டும் விசாரணைக்கு வந்தது. கூடுதல் மதிப்பெண் பெற்றதாக மாணவர் தாக்கல் செய்த மதிப்பெண் சான்றின் ஸ்கிரீன் ஷாட் திரிக்கப்பட்டது என்றும், 248 மதிப்பெண்கள் மட்டுமே பெற்றுள்ளதாகவும் தேசிய தேர்வு முகமை தரப்பில் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

அதேசமயம், உண்மையைக் கண்டறிய விசாரணை தேவை என்றும், தன் மீது தவறு இருந்தால் சட்ட பின்விளைவுகளைச் சந்திக்கத் தயாராக இருப்பதாகவும் மனுதாரர் தரப்பில் உத்தரவாதம் அளிக்கப்பட்டது.

கலந்தாய்வு அமைப்பு தரப்பில், மனுதாரருக்கு ஏற்கெனவே தூத்துக்குடி மருத்துவக் கல்லூரியில் இடம் ஒதுக்கீடு செய்யப்பட்டு, வழக்கு நிலுவை காரணமாக சேர்க்கை வழங்கப்படவில்லை எனத் தெரிவிக்கப்பட்டது.

னைத்துத் தரப்பு வாதங்களையும் கேட்ட நீதிபதி, மனுதாரருக்கு மாணவர் சேர்க்கை வழங்க உத்தரவிட்டார்.

இந்த விவகாரத்தில் சுதந்திரமான ஒரு அமைப்பைக் கொண்டு விசாரிப்பது குறித்து ஜனவரி 21-ம் தேதி முடிவெடுக்கப்படும் எனத் தெரிவித்த நீதிபதி, மனுதாரர் முறைகேட்டில் ஈடுபட்டது தெரியவந்தால் படிப்பைக் கைவிட வேண்டும் என்றும், அதற்கான கட்டணத்தைச் செலுத்த வேண்டுமெனவும், மாணவர் மட்டுமல்லாமல் அவரது பெற்றோரும் சட்ட விளைவுகளைச் சந்திக்க நேரிடும் எனவும் குறிப்பிட்டு, விசாரணையை ஜனவரி 21-ம் தேதிக்குத் தள்ளிவைத்தார்.

 அகில இந்திய துப்பாக்கிச் சுடும் போட்டியில் மதுரை மருத்துவ மாணவி முதலிடம்

madurai-medico-bags-title-in-national-level-shooting-championship

அகில இந்திய துப்பாக்கிச் சுடும் போட்டியில் மதுரையைச் சேர்ந்த மருத்துவ மாணவி முதலிடம் பெற்றுள்ளார்.

மதுரை சர்வேயர் காலனியைச் சேர்ந்த மாணவி சி.கவி ரக்ஷனா. இவர், சிவகங்கை அரசு மருத்துவக் கல்லூரியில் இரண்டாம் ஆண்டு படிக்கிறார்.

அண்மையில், டெல்லியில் நடந்த அகில இந்திய பெண்கள் 10 மீட்டர் ஏர் ரைஃபிளில், அகில இந்திய அளவில் முதலிடம் பிடித்து சாதனை படைத்துள்ளார்.

காமன்வெல்த் போட்டியில் தங்கப்பதக்கம் வென்ற இளவேனில் என்ற பெண்ணை (குஜராத்துக்காக விளையாடுகிறார்) மூன்றாம் இடம் தள்ளி முதலிடம் பெற்றுள்ளார்.

கவி ரக்ஷனாவிடம் தோல்வியடைந்த இளவேனிக்கு குஜராத் அரசு ஆண்டிற்கு பத்து லட்சம் நிதியுதவி, தனிப்பட்ட இரண்டு பயிற்சியாளர்களை வழங்கி ஊக்கவித்து வருகிறது.

ஆனால், அரசு மற்றும் தனியாரின் எந்த ஸ்பான்சர் உதவியும் இல்லாமல் கடந்த ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளாக மதுரைக்காகவும், தமிழகத்திற்காகவும் கவி ரக்ஷனா பல்வேறு போட்டிகளில் பங்கேற்று பரிசுகளையும், சிறப்பிடங்களையும் பெற்றுள்ளார்.

தற்போது தேசிய அளவில் முதலிடமும் பெற்றுள்ளார். ஆனாலும் தமிழக அரசின் விளையாட்டுத் துறை இவரை இதுவரை அங்கீகாரம் செய்யவில்லை. எனவே தனது மகள் கவி ரக்ஷனாவுக்கு உதவ வேண்டும் என்று தந்தை டாக்டர் சக்கரவர்த்தி வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளார்.

NEET marks disparity: HC to decide on probe on Jan 21

NEET marks disparity: HC to decide on probe on Jan 21

NTA Says No Discrepancy In Marks

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:14.01.2021

Amid allegations of marksheet manipulation in NEET against National Testing Agency (NTA), Madras highcourtsaiditwilltake a call on ordering probe by an independent agency on January 21.

Justice B Pugalendhi passed the interim order on the plea moved by K S Manoj, an MBBS aspirant from Coimbatore, alleging that his marksheet had been manipulated by NTA and that he was denied admission to medical course.

According to Manoj, when he downloaded his answer sheet first on October 15, the mark shown against his name was 594, whereas, on October 17 it was modified to 248 marks.

Justice Pugalendhi, taking note of the allegation and allowing the student to join the Tuticorin Medical College where he had been allotted a seat, however, said: "It is made clear that if an investigation is ordered and the investigation reveals any manipulation committed by the petitioner, not only the petitioner, but his parentswill alsobeheld responsible and have to face the legal consequences."

Noting that the admission is subject to the outcome of the plea, the judge said: “It is needless to state that the petitioner can neither take any advantage on the admission obtained in the college, which was made pursuant to the order of this court, nor can claim any refund of the fee paid at the time of admission.”

The petitioner will also be liable to pay the discontinued fee, the court added.

Opposing the plea, NTA had arguedthatscreenshots relied on by the petitioner showing more marks are fabricated and that there was only one OMR sheet, which would expose that petitioner had got 248 marks and not more than that.

Denying the same, the petitioner asserted that he had not tampered any document as claimed, and sought investigation by any agency.

The petitioner, an MBBS aspirant from Coimbatore, claimed that when he downloaded his answer sheet on October 15, the mark shown against his name was 594, whereas on October 17, it was 248

NEET booster shot: Cut-offs keep rising as students shine

PROGRESS REPORT

NEET booster shot: Cut-offs keep rising as students shine

Many Retake Exam To Enter Better Institutes; High Scores Up Competition For Seats In Govt Colleges

Pushpa.Narayan@timesgroup.com

12.01.2021

For four years, almost all parties in the state have been protesting National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) as the sole eligibility for admissions to medical and dental colleges. But with every passing year since 2017 — when the state first adopted NEET — students have been raising the bar.

On Monday, data released by the state selection committee, a day after it closed MBBS admissions under the state quota, showed that the last student to enter medical college this year under the state quota scored 281 in NEET compared to 140 in 2017. The committee allots students the college of choice based on merit in NEET and 69% rule of reservation.

“It is not just cut-offs that have gone up in the past four years. The top scores in NEET have also increased,” said director of medical education Dr R Narayanababu. This year, seven students had marks above 700 compared to none last year. There were 205 students who scored more than 650 compared to 12 students last year. “Many students attempt NEET more than once so they get better colleges. In fact, most of the toppers are students who have repeated the exam for the second or third time,” he said.

This crowding at the top has made entrance to top city colleges such as Madras Medical College or Stanley Medical Colleges for the state tougher. For instance, the cut-off for open category students to join the Madras Medical College was 660 and the last student who entered the college had scored 511 marks.

Meritorious students opt for seats in government colleges, where annual tuition fee is ₹13,600. Up to 50% of seats in self-financing medical colleges are categorised as state quota seats. The annual tuition fee for students admitted under the state quota is between ₹3.85 lakh and ₹4.15 lakh compared to ₹12.5 lakh for students under the management quota and ₹23.5 lakh for NRI.

Eligible students, who don’t make it under the state quota, apply for management quota seats in self-financing colleges. Experts say more students in TN may make it to state quota if toppers make “smarter” choices.

Many toppers in the state are still apprehensive about applying for the online counselling held by the medical counselling committee (MCC) of the directorate general of health services. The MCC conducts counselling for the central government institutions and the 15% of seats surrendered by states from government colleges for admission under the all-India quota, besides deemed universities.

While some toppers apply to Jipmer in Puducherry, not many students try for intuitions such as AIIMS or Armed Forces Medical College. Many students with score about 600 told TOI that they were not aware of the centralised counselling, while some others said they decided to stay in TN. “Earlier, students did not apply because they had to write separate tests. But this year, the process for admissions to all colleges was similar,” said R Sathish Kumar, student counsellor. “We hope that their impression towards studying in colleges outside the state will change,” he said.

HC relief for three med aspirants

HC relief for three med aspirants

Madurai:25.12.2020

Granting relief to three aggrieved MBBS aspirants who applied for seats under the 7.5% quota for government school students but could not make it due to different reasons, Madras high court directed the authorities to keep three seats vacant when the All India Quota seats are surrendered.

Petitioner G Kathikajothi had got placement under the quota in a private college but since it required her to pay more fees, she did not accept it. Justice S Vaidyanathan observed that chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had made a commitment that fees would be borne by the government for meritorious students who could not pay them in private colleges. The offer had been made after the petitioner refused to accept the seat. Hence, the judge said that the gesture shown by the CM may be applied for the petitioner depending upon seat availability, marks scored and the surrender of seats in All India Quota. TNN

NEET forgery: Man, daughter on the run

NEET forgery: Man, daughter on the run

Chennai:24.12.2020

The Periamet police have summoned for a third time the father-daughter duo against whom a case of cheating and forgery was registered for faking the NEET scorecard.

The two are absconding. A special team is camping in Paramakudi, their hometown. Earlier this week, the Periamet police had sent summons to the MBBS aspirant and her father.

Police have booked the man and his daughter for allegedly trying to secure a medical seat y forging the scorecard and the provisional rank list.

On November 30, the aspirant, Deeksha, who had scored only 27 marks in NEET, reached the counselling centre in Chennai with her father Balachandran, a dentist. She posed as another candidate and said she had scored 610 marks in NEET. She told the authorities that she had not received a call for counselling. However, during verification, authorities found that the girl had scored poorly in NEET and thus was not called for counselling. TNN

40% of MBBS students in ’20 are passouts of previous years!

40% of MBBS students in ’20 are passouts of previous years!

1,800 Took Drop, Bettered Score To Get Into Colleges With Lower Fee

Bharat.Yagnik@timesgroup.com

Ahmedabad:  23.12.2020

It may come as a surprise but a good 40% of the 4,446 students who were granted admission in medical colleges in the current academic year had actually passed their class 12 board exams in 2019, some dating back to even 2016. The primary reason for these 1,800 students who took a drop and prepared hard to better their National Entrance Examination Test (NEET) score was to get into government quota and save lakhs in fee.

As per data shared by the Admission Committee for Professional Medical Educational Courses (ACPMEC), there are 5,507 under-graduate medical seats in Gujarat. Of these, admission to 4,446 seats was granted through a centralized process by the committee.

In the current academic year, 1,800 students of 4,446 students granted admission are actually old students who took drops to better their admission prospects. Highest 1,560 students had cleared their HSC in 2019 while 198 passed out in 2018, 29 in 2017 while 13 had cleared their class 12 way back in 2016.

Stop allocation of 677 seats in mgmt quota: PIL

The Gujarat high court has been moved with a complaint about `wrongful allocation' of as many as 677 MBBS seats at government and aided medical colleges to rich students in ‘management quota’. Last week, advocate K R Koshti made a representation to the government to stop the practice of allocating 677 MBBS seats in the management quota in violation of laws formulated for medical admissions. TNN P 3

300 got admission in govt colleges

This is one of the highest tally of old students getting admission in the state. Of the 1,800 students, more than 300 students have got admission in government medical colleges where the fee is nominal,” said an official of the ACPMEC.

In fact, a good 27 old students have cracked the NEET with top scores and landed admission in BJ Medical College which is the most sought after college in the state.

Neel Patel is one such student. He had scored 464 marks in NEET 2019 and was getting admission in Banas Medical College & Research Institute in Palanpur. He took a drop and worked hard to better his score. “Neel scored 651 marks this year and has got admission in BJ Medical College. By investing one year in coaching, Neel got into the best college and saved lakhs in fees,” said Neel's father Bhupendra Patel.

Ahmedabad-student Dhruvi Acharya had scored 398 marks out of 720 in NEET 2019 and was getting admission in Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences (GAIMS), Bhuj. She also took a drop for a year to better her performance and scored 598 marks in NEET 2020.

"Dhruvi was getting admission in government medical colleges in Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar but we chose Sola Civil as we wanted her to stay in Ahmedabad. The decision to take a drop proved a blessing as Dhruvi has saved us a good Rs 60 lakh in fee," said father Pankaj.

Seat scam accused held for cheating another aspirant

MEDICAL ADMISSIONS

Seat scam accused held for cheating another aspirant

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bengaluru:  15.12.2020

Investigations into the medical college admission racket, in which money was collected by an education consultancy firm from unsuspecting parents seeking seats for their wards, revealed that the main accused had evaded arrest earlier by getting anticipatory bail.

The accused, 29-year-old Shahe Abrahar of Overseas Education Research Foundation on Rest House Road in central business district, had come under police radar in February 2019 when he was  accused of cheating a medical seat aspirant of Rs 1.7 lakh. He is currently in police custody for duping a 62-yearold man of Rs 10 lakh.

In the 2019 case registered by Cubbon Park police, the FIR identified the suspects as Vijay Sampagilam, Abrahar and the latter’s father Mohammed Ibrahim. While Vijay and Ibrahim were nabbed, Abrahar had managed to get anticipatory bail. However, police are yet to submit a chargesheet in the case.

Though chargesheet has to be filed within 90 days of registering the case, Cubbon Park police had sought more time from the court. Now with Abrahar in custody, police said they will file chargesheets in both the cases.

Cops arrested Abrahar after 62-year-old Vinak HS, a resident of HSR Layout, filed a cheating complaint on October 10. The complainant alleged that Abrahar had contacted him over phone, saying he could get a medical seat for his daughter in a private college in Shivamogga.

“Saying he will get a government seat which would cost Rs 2 lakh per year, Abrahar took Rs 10 lakh from me. But my daughter was allotted a seat that cost Rs 10 lakh fee per year,” Vinay stated in his complainant.

‘Fraudster network’

“Each year, over half a dozen cases of cheating related to seats in medical and engineering colleges are reported in the city. There is an established network of such miscreants. First, they download names and other details of candidates seeking seats at colleges located in and around Bengaluru. Then, they start calling the candidates, offering a seat for payment. During the conversation, these fraudsters claim they have solid contacts in college managements and can easily get the seats, provided candidates shell out money,” a senior police officer explained.

In September 2019, Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested 11 people on charges of cheating medical and engineering seat aspirants of money. Probe had revealed some of the accused were from the city, while a majority of them were from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal. Two of the prime accused were running a job consultancy in Jayanagar, which they had opened a few months ago. “The consultancy office was set up just to collect money from the victims. The accused never did job-related work there,” an investigator said.

Abrahar had come under police radar in February 2019 when he was accused of cheating a medical seat aspirant of Rs 1.7 lakh. However, he managed to get anticipatory bail. He is now in custody for duping a 62-year-old man, who claims Abrahar contacted him over phone

Medical Counseling Committee Notification

 

Police quiz father-daughter duo in NEET cheating case

Police quiz father-daughter duo in NEET cheating case

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:  15.12.2020

The Periamet police who sent summons to an MBBS aspirant and her father who tried to secure a medical seat by submitting fake NEET scorecard questioned the due on Monday.

Police will soon bring the father-daughter duo to Chennai for questioning.

On November 30, Deeksha who had scored only 27 marks in NEET UG 2020 reached the counselling centre in Chennai with her father Balachandran, a desntist. At the centre, she allegedly claimed to be another candidate who had scored 610 and told the authorities that she had not received her call for counselling. She also submitted a rank list with the photo and roll number of herself against 610 marks.

After the authorities found her wrongdoing a further probe revealed that the aspirant had forged her scorecard. “They were asked to appear for a probe. Only a detailed inquiry will reveal how she managed to forge or is there a larger network involved," said an investigating officer.

High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

High cut-off for medical admissions expected as scores in NEET soar

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

The cut-off marks of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses are set to rise steeply this year with a huge increase in the number of top scorers.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years, accessed by TOI, revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above out of a total of 720 marks this year, compared to just three in 2019. The number of those in the 650-699 score range is 3,903 this year against 1,022 last year. This year, there are 16,167 candidates scoring in the range of 600-649 while the figure was 6,892 in 2019.

37,500 more aspirants scored 500+ marks in NEET this yr

Counselling for registration and choice-filling by candidates for 15% all-India quota seats, conducted by the directorate general of health services (DGHS), is on. Most states are likely to conduct their counselling for admission to MBBS/BDS courses by the second week of November.

Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available for the aspirants this year, including nearly 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. There will be an additional 10% seats under quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

Compared to 2019, there are 37,512 more candidates scoring 500 marks or more this year compared to 2019. A total of 87,093 aspirants scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana witness a significant increase in the number of top-scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and above against 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates scoring 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant jump in the number of high scorers, with 220% increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks this year. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest jump in number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks — 1,029 this year against 146 in 2019.

“These are surprising numbers and will impact the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions this year. The toppers used to be predominantly from Rajasthan as it has become the capital of coaching where students are treated like they are in military camps. I have personally visited Kota to see this regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising,” said Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.

With more NEET toppers, high cut-off likely for medical seats

With more NEET toppers, high cut-off likely for medical seats

37,500 More Aspirants Scored 500+ Marks In NEET This Year

Manash.Gohain@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:  30.10.2020

The cut-off marks of NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses this year is set to be very high with a huge increase in the number of top scorers as compared to 2019.

Comparison of data on NEET-UG scores for the two years, accessed by TOI, revealed that 111 candidates scored 700 and above out of a total of 720 marks this year as compared to just 3 in 2019. The number of those in the 650-699 score range is 3,903 this year as compared with 1,022 last year.

This year, there are 16,167 candidates scoring in the range of 600-649 while in 2019, the figure was 6,892. Counselling for registration and choice-filling by candidates for the 15% all-India quota seats, conducted by the directorate general of health services (DGHS) is already under way.

Most states are likely to conduct their counselling for admission to MBBS/BDS courses by second week of November. Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses. In all, a little over 80,000 MBBS and 38,000 BDS seats will be available for the aspirants this year, including nearly 42,500 seats in government-run institutions, including AIIMS and JIPMER. There will be an additional 10% seats under quota for economically weaker sections (EWS).

Compared to 2019, there are 37,512 more candidates scoring 500 marks or more this year as compared to 2019. A total of 87,093 aspirants scored 500 marks or more in NEET-UG 2020 as compared to 49,581 in 2019. And 56,857 more candidates scored 400 marks and above this year.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana witnesses a significant increase in the number of top-scorers. Kerala leads the way with 643 candidates scoring 650 and above as compared to 115 in 2019.

From Rajasthan, the number of candidates scoring 500 and above marks increased from 7,659 in 2019 to 11,698 in 2020. Maharashtra also saw a significant jump in the number of high scorers, with 220% increase in the number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks this year. Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest jump in number of candidates scoring 600 and above marks—1029 this year as compared to 146 in 2019.

“These are surprising numbers and will impact the cut-offs for undergraduate admissions this year. The toppers used to be predominantly from Rajasthan as it has become the capital of coaching where students are treated like they are in military camps. I have personally visited Kota to see this regimental coaching. Kerala is also surprising,” said Dr S Kumar, chancellor, Sri Devaraj Urs University, Kolar.

Total number of MBBS seats under NEET 2020 has increased with AIIMS and JIPMER (Puducherry) also coming under it to admit students to undergraduate courses

Repeat students, an easy question paper up top scorers in NEET 2020

Repeat students, an easy question paper up top scorers in NEET 2020

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.10.2020

Several repeat students, an easy question paper and more time due to the lockdown have all resulted in a huge surge in top scorers in NEET-2020 from Tamil Nadu this year, with the number of students with above 400 marks rising by 100% over 2019.

A total of 11,978 scored above 400 marks against 5,634 students last year. This year, for the first time, seven students scored above 700 of 720 marks. About 205 students scored above 650 marks and 1,029 students above 600 marks; last year, 135 students got above 600 marks. This year, 4,211 got between 500 and 599 against 1,194 in 2019.

“The lockdown gave more time for students to prepare and the question paper was also simple,” said Chandan Chand, regional director of Aakash Institute. In the past few years, coaching centres have come up even in tier-2, tier-3 cities like Salem and Namakkal.

B Pavan Kumar, deputy director, FIITJEE, Chennai, said earlier, only students in northern states used to drop one year and prepare for entrance tests. “In Tamil Nadu, the number of students dropping one year and trying for NEET again has increased in the last 2-3 years.”

Of 4,202 students who joined MBBS last year, 2,916 were old students — two from the 2010 batch and 2,371 from the 2018 batch. “The old students were able to prepare better. By the time the lockdown was announced, they had already moved to mock tests,” said career consultant Jayaprakash Gandhi.

The revised textbooks for Classes XI and XII covered 97% of the questions. However, even after syllabus revision, TN state board students still need quality coaching to score high marks, say experts. “Our staff are not able to train students for NEET. We hired faculty members from Andhra Pradesh and this year more than 100 students from our school scored above 500 marks,” said P Swaminathan, secretary, SRV Schools in Trichy and Namakkal.

Some schools were also hiring faculty members from Kerala and those who worked in coaching institutes in Kota, Rajasthan, Chaitanya and Allen coaching institutes, he said.

MBBS cut-off may go up by 70-100 marks

MBBS cut-off may go up by 70-100 marks

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:30.10.2020

The cut-off marks for MBBS admission in TN may go up by 70 to 100 for most categories due to a surge in top scorers in National Eligibilitycum-Entrance Test 2020. The number of students with 500 and above NEET score is up almost four-fold compared to last year. While 5,240 students have scored more than 500 marks this year, 1,329 students had scored above 500 marks in 2019. The number of students who had scored 600 marks and above, too, has increased 10 times — from 135 last year to 1,029 this year. Students who have scored above 400 to 499 marks increased by more than 50% as 6,738 students had scored in this range, compared to 4,305 students last year.

Poor kids can switch to govt schools, avail benefit

The GO issued by health secretary J Radhakrishnan read, “Since the NEET-UG results have now been declared and the admission process has started, there is an urgency to decide on this issue and since the power to issue executive directions under Article 162 of the Constitution is coextensive with legislative powers, pending decision of the governor, the government has taken the decision.” The horizontal reservation of 7.5% shall be provided in each category of vertical reservation followed in Tamil Nadu within 69% reservation from 2020, the order said.

Students from government schools, including schools run by panchayats, municipalities and corporations, welfare schools for adi dravidar, tribals, kallar reclamation, BC/MBC/ differently-abled welfare, forest, social defence (borstal) and residential, will be eligible for the quota.

The GO said children belonging to weaker sections who have studied in private schools up to Class VIII under Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2008 too will benefit, if they study in government schools from Class IX.

Students in government schools would also be entitled to compete for seats, other than those set apart on a preferential basis, along with students of private schools, the order said. It directed the director of medical education, additional director of medical education and the directorate of Indian medicine and homeopathy to take action.

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

How UP youth moved to Bidar, cleared NEET

Farheen.Hussain@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:29.10.2020 

A 23-year-old BSc graduate from Uttar Pradesh, son of a farmer, cleared NEET this year in his sixth attempt after he moved to Karnataka to prepare for the entrance examination at a PU college in Bidar.

Mohammed Anas did not let financial difficulties, repeated failure or lack of resources suppress his childhood dream of becoming a doctor.

After a friend told him in 2017 about Bidar’s Shaheen PU College conducting special NEET coaching for aspirants, Anas, a science graduate with three attempts at NEET by then, decided to shift from UP’s Muzaffarnagar to Karnataka without losing time. The college is part of Shaheen Group of Educational Institutions.

Anas comes from an economically disadvantaged family and he has four siblings. During school and college days, Anas realised he did not have resources or time to join a medical college.

Want to serve people who can’t afford treatment, says UP boy

After my 12th, I started appearing for entrance exams and never scored over 200 marks (out of 720),” Anas told TOI, adding he joined the college for a BSc degree in a big compromise of his dream.

Once in Bidar, Anas went back a few steps, attending I PU classes. “In 2017, I scored 333 of 720; in 2019, I scored 531, but couldn’t bag a seat in UP. This year, I have scored 663 and have a fair chance of landing a free government seat in a UP college,” Anas said.

How did the youngster stay motivated in the face of numerous roadblocks and the pandemic? “I knew the only way for a better future for me and my family was achieving this. I had to do this to give back to my family, and my society. I want to serve the people who can’t afford treatment,” he said.

At times, he felt demotivated and unsure about finding a decent rank. But he stayed focused on studies and timetable with zero distraction and support from his institution. “Our chairman visited us to keep us motivated. We had a support system among friends and teachers,” he said.

Abdul Qadeer, chairman, Shaheen Education Foundation, said when Anas came to his institute, they realised he was bright but his basics were weak. “We worked to strengthen his basics,” he said.