TIRUVARUR: Two students from a Tamil Nadu village who studied in the same government school could not take up the MBBS seats allotted to them in private colleges due to the hefty tuition fees. The announcement of government support for such students came too late for them.
Mohan, a mobile phone service shop owner from Perugavazhndan near Mannargudi, says in a disappointed voice, "My daughter's chance for an MBBS seat in a government college was lost by a whisker." Backiyalakshmi was the third student who was offered a seat in the Rajah Muthiah Medical College attached to the Annamalai University under the 7.5% government school quota.
"We were told the fees would be Rs 5.25 lakh per year," said Mohan. Their plea for wait-listing was not accepted and they were asked to forgo the allotment. "I was already in debt as I had to spend for my son who is studying BHMS in a private college," says Mohan.
Although the Chief Minister announced on November 18 that the government would offer scholarships to students who get seats in private medical colleges, the news did not reach Mohan and Backiyalakshmi as they were in the counselling centre till 4.45 pm on the same day.
"If we had known about the announcement, we would have accepted the offer," he added. Backiyalakshmi and her father are expecting a favourable announcement from the government about re-counselling for those who had to forgo MBBS seats in private colleges due to financial constraints.
Another student from the village R Vinodh who also studied at the Government Higher Secondary School in Perugavazhndan also had to forgo his MBBS seat offered in a private college. "I was asked to choose any private college except PSG," says Vinodh. His father Ravi is working as a mason.
"Due to Cyclone Gaja, I could not apply for NEET in 2018 and got coaching for NEET for a year," he added. He is also hoping for a favourable order from the government. Meanwhile, he has started preparing for the next NEET, saying, "We are told that new government colleges would be added this year."