A bitter pill: Parents of State board students say there are several discrepancies in the admission based on NEET results. | Photo Credit: T_Singaravelou more-in Students aspiring for medical seats in Puducherry remain wary of the possibilities that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) could provide. The experience of candidates who had cleared NEET in 2016 and yet are unable to pursue MBBS because of hefty fees and alleged discrepancies in admission process had brought the students and parents’ organisations together to fight for proper implementation of the norms. A parent, on condition of anonymity, said that candidates studying State syllabus were struggling to get a seat irrespective of clearing NEET. “My daughter had cleared NEET and was hoping to get a medical seat. At the counselling session, we were asked to pay nearly ?25 lakh which we could not afford to. She is now pursuing engineering. It is hard to see the plight of poor students who are unable to pay the fees demanded by medical institutions,” said the parent. A candidate said that she had studied State syllabus and the colleges did not really equip us to face NEET. “In many colleges, they do not complete the class 11 syllabus. We have to attend special coaching classes to prepare for NEET,” she added. The Legislative Assembly had adopted a resolution in its two-day session urging the Centre to exempt Puducherry from NEET. The resolution had been sent to the Centre for approval. It had to be vetted by the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Health, and the Law Ministry. All eyes on Centre Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy said: “As far as Puducherry government is concerned, all steps on its part had been taken to procure the nod of the Centre for exemption of Puducherry from NEET. I hope that a positive response would come soon. If there is delay on the part of the Centre, Puducherry has no other option but to fall in line since future of students is paramount.” The Parents UT All CENTAC Students Parents Association alleged that the government has not taken steps to ensure that students who have cleared NEET in Puducherry get medical seats. Sources in the government said that for want of constitutional powers, Puducherry cannot go ahead with its decision on several policy issues much less the one relating to National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET). M. Narayanassamy, president, Puducherry UT All CENTAC Students Parents Association, said that of the 99 students who had cleared NEET last year in Puducherry, not more than 15 got admitted to medical institutions. “We want the government to address these issues at the earliest. Otherwise, many aspiring and eligible students from the impoverished background in Puducherry will lose out even this year,” he said. The association said if the admission process was streamlined, several Puducherry students would benefit. In order to draw the attention of the Medical Council of India (MCI), they had submitted a letter to the Monitoring Committee in MCI on March 30 over the alleged discrepancies in the MBBS admission process involving private medical colleges and deemed universities. “We will be going to MCI office in New Delhi this April 25 to raise this issue and to ensure that these issues are not repeated this year as NEET is fast approaching,” Mr. Narayanassamy added. PG admission A spokesperson of the Pondicherry State Students and Parents Welfare Association has called upon the Puducherry government to ensure that the quota of reservation adopted for PG admission of students to professional courses through the Centralised Admission Committee (CENT) should be continued while admitting students based on NEET. There should be no deviation or difference in admission pattern since the quota of reservation should not be disturbed. The MCI has prescribed that admission to PG courses in all medical colleges should be completed on or before May 31. However, nothing has been done in Puducherry. This would put students from Puducherry at a disadvantage, he said. A senior government official said the first phase of counselling for admission to post-graduate courses had been tentatively fixed next month. The merit list for PG seats under the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) will be released next week. The managements of seven private medical colleges in the Union Territory are not willing to surrender even a single seat. The government is in touch with the Union Health Ministry and a decision will be taken in this regard, he said.

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