THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the Supreme Court staying the MBBS/BDS spot admission to four self-financing medical colleges, the admission process for other colleges in the state resumed at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College on Saturday. The mop-up counselling was rescheduled for Saturday and Sunday after the proceedings were stopped following the Supreme Court order. The apex court will hear the case again on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court stayed the admissions to Al-Azhar Medical College & Super Speciality Hospital, Ezhalloor, Thodupuzha, Idukki (150 seats), D M Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Kalpetta, Wayanad (150 seats), P K Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Vaniyamkulam, Palakkad (150 seats), and S R Medical College and Research Centre, Akathumuri, Thiruvananthapuram (100 seats) based on a petition filed by the Medical Council of India (MCI).
Entrance Commissioner P K Sudheer Babu said students who had got admission to the four medical colleges before the stay order came into effect have also participated in the counselling. “We have clearly conveyed to the students that they also have to participate in the spot admission process restarting on Saturday. Even though the students got admission to the said four colleges, it may become invalid if the Supreme Court verdict goes against the colleges. So we can’t leave their (students’) future in the lurch. However, if the Supreme Court verdict favours the colleges, then a counselling session will be held separately for the four colleges,” Sudheer Babu told Express.
The mop-up counselling to the self-financing medical colleges in the state, which started last Monday, was to fill 550 vacant seats in the MBBS and BDS courses. The four self-financing colleges were also included in the process after they received a favourable verdict from the Kerala High Court against an MCI observation that they did not have adequate facilities to run medical colleges. But later, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on the High Court order.
For the past five days, thousands of students along with their parents from across the state have been coming to the capital city seeking admission to the colleges. Many parents had registered protests against the sudden withdrawal of admission process. Students, ranked between 1 and 4000 in MBBS and BDS admission list, participated in the admission process.