MCI Cancels Admission Of MBBS Students In Puducherry For Violation Of Norms

New Delhi: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has cancelled the admission of students to first year MBBS course in deemed universities and private medical colleges in Puducherry who were admitted during the year 2016-17. The students thus affected are those who were admitted without centralized counselling and after the last date of counselling. In the letter dated September 7, 2017, the council has directed the Puducherry Health Secretary and the Director of Health Services to discharge all such students who were admitted without undergoing CENTAC counselling or were admitted after the last date for admission which was September 30, 2016. The Council has also asked them to file a compliance report within two weeks.

The council's letter held that the admissions done after the last date were irregular. 

The council's directive is based on findings of its monitoring sub-committee which went into a complaint by CENTAC Students Parents Association. The association had alleged that there were gross irregularities in the admission process followed by four deemed universities and three private medical colleges last year.

The committee had perused a July 12, 2017 letter of Lt Governor Kiran Bedi to the MCI on the matter and the report of Chairperson of Permanent Admission Committee of the UT Justice Chitra Venkatraman.

Although the circular does not contain the number of students whose admission would be cancelled, the association has claimed that about 770 students had been admitted through irregular proceedings. 

Kiran Bedi in a whatsapp message told PTI, "For early prevention and detection of such irregularities, and corruption Puducherry needs independent vigilance system, a high court bench and a unit of CBI."

Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy, on the other hand, defended the government and said that the issue concerned admission of students to management quota seats in these institutions and the government was completely out of picture. He also said that admissions in private colleges were done in an open and fair manner. 

According to the MCI letter, the sub-committee found that no combined merit list of the National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) qualified candidates was prepared by the deemed universities.

In its letter, a copy of which is also marked to the Lt. Governor, MCI said that this clearly indictaes that the deemed universities and private colleges had completely ignored the Supreme Court directive to conduct medical admission in a transparent and fair manner. 

In the letter, MCI also pointed out that before the commencement of the counselling process, the University Grants Commission (UGC) had informed the universities that they would be part of a common counselling process which will be organised either by the state government or through its agency based on the marks obtained by students in NEET.

The deemed universities did not follow the procedure and the private colleges did not prepare a combined merit list.

The letter alos said that private collegs had allowed admission to only a limited number of students through CENTAC. M Narayanasamy, President of the Association of CENTAC Students Parents, alleged that only 283 students were admitted whereas there were 1050 sanctioned seats in deemed universities and private colleges in Puducherry. 

(With Inputs from PTI)

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