THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The students who completed admission to MBBS course should be excluded from paying penalty if they opt for other colleges under all-India quota, said N K Premachandran, MP. According to him, several NEET qualified students were forced to join medical colleges as the state level mop-up counselling (spot admission) was completed before the national level selection.
“The students who opt for better colleges during national level selections will have to pay penalty to colleges where they have already taken admission,” said Premachandran. He wrote a letter to the Union Minister for Health to direct the state government to exclude students from paying the penalty and streamline the process of returning certificates deposited.
The state-level mop up to fill vacant seats in MBBS course was held on August 7 and 8. He was critical of state conducting mop-up counselling ahead of national-level selection as it marred the chances of students getting seats under ESI quota and at national merit quota. “The decision to conduct mop-up before the national selection on August 19 was to help private medical college managements,” said Premachandran.
According to him, it had been a convention so far to conduct state mop-up only after completing the admission at the national level. Admission for students benefiting from ESI quota at the national level has not begun yet.