Young Doctors Wing go on State-wide Signature campaign for Centralized Counselling
Mangaluru: “To safeguard the interests of all the students of merit from Karnataka, to resurrect social justice that is being trampled under privatisation, to control the unbridled rise of cost of medical education, to save the standards of medical education and to urge the immediate implementation of the supreme court order on centralized counselling by the states. The young doctors have formed, “Doctors against Corruption”, and to hold a signature campaign”, said the member of the Doctors Against Corruption Coordination Committee Dr Vishranth in a press meet held at the press club here on March 2.
Addressing the mediapersons Dr Vishranth said, “Our demand is, all the seats )of government, private, NRI and every other quota) for MBBS/MD/Diploma and BDS/MDS, in all the government, private and deemed university -affiliated medical and dental colleges of Karnataka must be allotted, based in the NEET, through only a centralized, transparent, single window counselling held by the Karnataka Examination authority under the observation of the government of kKarnataka, from this year 2017 itself.”
As you are aware, Karnataka is one among the states with the highest number of medical colleges, with 18 Govt colleges and 38 private colleges, offering 8325 M888 seats and 3461 MD/MS/Diploma seats.
Karnataka was also one of the Host states to start the Common Entrance Tests in 1984 and had 75% of seats in the private medical colleges under the Govt quota. But over the years. instead of a single CET, private colleges and deemed universities have started their own entrance examinations, and the share of seats offered to the govt, the quota has also steadily dwindled. This has not only deprived the opportunity for professional education to students with merit but also harmed the social justice. Also. the standard of medical education has sharply declined and its cost has skyrocketed.
At the initiative of the Medical Council of India and on the orders of the Supreme Court of indie, the Central Govt has now enacted the Law for the conduct of NEET, for both undergraduate and postgraduate medical and dental admissions. The UG-NEET for 2016-17 and the PG-NEET for 2017 have already been held and the results have also been announced.
But attempts have been made by the private colleges to subvert the intent of this examination by holding their own counselling for admissions, albeit based on the NEET results. Considering this, the 5-judge bench of the Supreme Court has on September 22, 2016, ordered that all the admissions for ALL medical seats under NEET must be done only through centralized counselling conducted by the State Govt., and has cancelled the counselling held by private colleges. Also, in another judgement dated Sep 28, 2016, the Supreme Court has ordered that centralized counselling by the state govt, must be held for the medical college seats under the deemed universities as well. The University Grants Commission (UGC), in a public notice on September 15, 2016, had also clarified that Deemed Universities will be part of Common Counselling for MBBS and EDS admissions through NEET merit list only. On Dec 5, 2016, Amit Biswas, Under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, has written (F .No.V.11025/04/2016-MEP) to all Principal Secretaries (ME) of States/UTs that it may be appropriate for the State/UT Governments to hold combined counselling through such designated authority for admission to all PG medical/dental courses in all medical/dental colleges in the State/UT including Private Medical/Dental Colleges and Private/Deemed Universities from the academic year 2017-18.
The states of Haryana, Punjab, and Maharashtra have already issued notifications for centralized, single window counselling for all the seats in medical colleges managed by the Govt as well as private/deemed universities and Kerala and many other states are in the process of doing so.
In Karnataka, the counselling for admissions after UG NEET was held separately by the private colleges, and many students with merit could not get admissions. And again. after the announcements of the results of PG NEET, the Karnataka Examination Authority has published the instruction Manual on its website regarding document verification. Without wide publicity and giving adequate time, the KEA seems to be in a hurry to complete this process. Further, the manual states that the process pertains to only counselling for allotment of seats for admission to Post Graduate Degree / Diploma Courses in Medical / Dental subjects in Government Medical and Dental colleges, Government Quota seats in Private and Minority Medical and Dental Colleges andGovemment Quota seats in Deemed Universities located in the State of Karnataka for the academic year 2017-18, thereby leaving aside the private and deemed university seats for separate counselling. The manual also suggests that anyone who has studied MBBS/BDS in Karnataka is eligible to seek admission for PG seats under the Govt quota seats. thus hampering the opportunities for Karnataka residents.
Therefore, to safeguard the interests of all the Karnataka students with merit. to resurrect social justice that is being trampled under privatization. to control the unbridled rise in the coat of medical education. and to save the standards of medical education. we, the junior doctors of Karnataka have formed the Doctors Against Corruption Campaign under the Indian Medical Association. Young Doctors’ Wing, affiliated to the Karnataka State Branch. We have already conducted a signature campaign in all the medical colleges of Kamatalta. collecting more than 5000 signatures. and have submitted a memorandum to the Hon’ble Chief Minister. and also to ministers of health and family welfare and medical education. through the Indian Medical Association, Karnataka State Branch. We are now conducting an e-mail campaign, writing to the Dept. of Medical Education. KEA and the Director of Medical Education. And if our demands are not met, we are planning a protest demonstration at the Karnataka Examination Authority, Bangalore, on March 4, 2017, the first day of the document verification for medical postgraduate admissions.
Our demands are as below:
1. The process of document verification at the KEA must be publicized well and the dates must be extended adequately to facilitate the participation of all the eligible aspirants.
2. All the seats (of Govt. private. NRI and every other quota) for post-graduate education. offering MD/MS/Dipioma/MDS. and also MBBS/BDS. in all the government. private and deemed university-affiliated medical and dental colleges of Karnataka must be allotted on the basis of the PGIUG NEET. starting in the year 2017 itself. through only a centralized. transparent, single window counselling held by the Kamatalta Examination Authority under the observation of the Govt. of Karnataka.
3. The eligibility to seek admission in the Govt quota for students from outside the state of Kamataka.but have studied MBBS/BDS in Karnataka must be immediately withdrawn. Fifty percent of the PG seats having been already given to the all indie pool. this clause will severely hamper the opportunities for the residents of Kamatalia.
4. Seventy percent (70%)of all the seats for post-graduate education, offering MD/MS/Diploma/MDS. in every speciality/sub specialities also torMBBS/BDSin all the private and deemed university-affiliated medical and dental colleges of Karnataka must be provided to the Govt. quota.
5. This 70 % of all the seats for MBBS/BDSI MD/MS/Diploma/MDS in all the private and deemed university-affiliated medical and dental colleges of Karnataka provided to the Govt. quota must be allotted with due consideration to all the eligibility and reservation criteria formulated by the Govt of Karnataka (domicile. Kannadigas residing outside and in neighbouring areas. reservations based on social. economic and regional criteria etc.)
6. There must be parity of tuition fees and hostel fees, as well as a stipend, for all the students admitted under the Govt quota in the Govt. as well as private and deemed university-affiliated medical and dental colleges. There should not be any hidden fees.