THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Admission Supervisory Committee headed by Justice J M James has received dozens of complaints from students who allege that Self-Financing Medical Colleges (SFMCs) were denying them admission despite their names figuring in the rank list prepared by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations.
Recently, the Supreme Court had declined permission to SFMCs to conduct their own entrance examinations and had asked them to admit students to 35 per cent management quota seats from the CEE’s rank list. The Admission Supervisory Committee had received 125 complaints till date against SFMCs from students and parents on non-compliance with this directive.
Most of the students complain that their applications are summarily turned down by the colleges saying that all the seats have been filled.
However, the seats suddenly become ‘available’ if they are willing to pay over and above the prescribed fees. “I was told by a self-financing college in Malabar that all management quota seats have been filled. However, agents of the college were quick to approach me a day later saying that the seat was available if I was willing to pay a huge amount as capitation fee,” said Sreekantan Nair, a retired employee who is seeking admission for his daughter who figures in the CEE’s ranklist. The annual tuition fees for management quota seats in self-financing medical colleges range from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh. According to Anil Kumar V, secretary of Kerala Private Medical College Management Association, the admission to management quota seats is being conducted by individual colleges and not by the Association as was done in previous years.
“There may be certain irregularities in the admission process in some colleges. Such cases can be brought to the notice of the Admission Supervisory Committee,” he said. Fasal Gafoor of Muslim Educational Society (MES) said that the confusion surrounding medical admission this year was a result of the government’s stubbornness. “We have taken these lapses very seriously and have asked the colleges to take remedial measures. The final admission lists from the colleges will be scrutinised thoroughly and irregularities if any will be rectified at that stage,” Justice J M James said.