THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Even as the allotment process for admissions to self-financing medical colleges in the state has come to a close, scores of students have not been able to secure an MBBS seat owing to exorbitant fees.
The demand of some of the self-financing colleges to produce a demand draft of Rs 6 lakh left some of the parents confused. Apart from this, some of the students who had taken admission the other day had demanded return of the demand draft, which created chaos.
There were also protests when students belonging to SC/ST communities were asked to remit the fees at the time of allotment. The fees of the students under these categories are paid directly by the government.
With the allotments coming to an end on Tuesday, the remaining seats would be filled through spot admission to be held on Wednesday and Thursday. The students who appear for spot admission need not produce the certificates and can be submitted within a week of the admission. Those who appear for spot admission should furnish a demand draft of Rs 5 lakh in the name of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations and a bank guarantee of Rs 6 lakh. In the NRI quota, a demand draft of Rs 20 lakh should be produced.
Meanwhile, the Justice Rajendra Babu committee has asked all colleges to furnish documents before September 17 for finalising the fees. With respect to bank guarantee, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has called a meeting of the State-Level Bankers Committee on Wednesday.
With confusion over the fees to be paid by SC/ST students, SC/ST Welfare Minister A K Balan said there was no need for any concern as the fees would be paid by the government. Those students getting admission through spot admission would also get the benefit, he said. Balan said strict action would be taken against the managements who deny admission to SC/ST students in the name of fees.
SFMC fees: CHENNITHALA WRITES TO CHIEF MINISTER
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala has sent a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan putting forward five suggestions to alleviate the sufferings of MBBS course aspirants in self-financing medical colleges.
The suggestions are against the backdrop of heavy fees and bank guarantee totalling Rs 11 lakh/annum slapped by the Supreme Court the other day, after the state government allegedly failed in taking effective and time-bound steps though uncertainty was ruling the roost in SF medical admissions and fees issue for the past 4-5 months.
The Chief Minister is on record stating that the government will see to it that not even a single student suffers on account of the SC verdict on fees and bank guarantee, even as health minister K K Shylaja only said that it was sad to hear the court directive. Whether the suggestions of the Opposition Leader will gain acceptance or not, is keenly watched.
Spot admission: ‘All students can change course, college’
The state government on Tuesday informed the Kerala High Court that all students, including NRIs, seeking change of course or college at the spot admission would be permitted to do so. It won’t be based on prior registration or restricted to specific groups only.
The Advocate General made the submission on a petition filed by some students stating there was a confusion about the spot admission for MBBS/BDS scheduled on September 30 and 31 in Thiruvananthapuram.
The court recorded the submission of AG and said the Commissioner for Entrance Examination would proceed accordingly and in case of any confusion, he would immediately take instructions from the Advocate General in this regard.