BHUBANESWAR:Admission into technical education courses in the State will have to wait now that the Supreme Court has cancelled the All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT) over gross irregularities and question paper leak directing a fresh examination.
Close to 40,000 students from the State had appeared for the AIPMT which was held on May 3. There are 750 MBBS and 150 BDS seats which are up for grabs while 85 per cent of seats of State institutions are meant for native students.
However, cancellation of the entrance has evoked mixed reaction from the aspirants. While some welcome the direction of the apex court, others are skeptical how the fresh test would turn out.
The re-test, which will have to be done within four weeks, may delay the admission process. Since the fresh entrance is expected to be held in July, announcement of results may take another month after which counselling process will be initiated.
The Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) Committee will conduct counselling for 85 per cent of the seats on basis of a merit list drawn up by the CBSE which holds the AIPMT. After the admission for State institutions is completed, counselling for the rest 15 per cent from the national list will be held. Any residual seat will be transferred to the State at the end.
However, Odisha JEE chairman Tushar Kant Nath is hopeful that the admission process will be completed by September 30, the deadline originally set by the Supreme Court.
Admission into MBBS and BDS institutions apart, the process for engineering and other professional programmes will also be taken up around the same time. After the JEE (Advanced) result is published, the web counselling process will kick off for admission into engineering colleges which is expected around July.
The private engineering colleges are wary that this may affect admission prospects. Since Odisha is the only State from the eastern region to have joined the JEE (Main) for admission into State engineering colleges, the private colleges are apprehensive that the vacancy position will only worsen.
“In States like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattishgarh, the counselling process will end during the last week of the month. In Odisha, it will start only in July which will affect the admissions,” Odisha Private Engineering Colleges’ Association secretary Binod Dash said. Just about 17 States have joined JEE (Main), he said.
However, the OJEE chairman begged to differ. The difference in timings will have no bearing on the admissions. Migration of students to Odisha is not a trend anymore since the neighbouring States have seen establishment of more number of institutions in the last few years, Nath said.
