HYDERABAD/WARANGAL: The Medical and Health Department’s recent order that students who studied from Class 9 to Intermediate will be considered local candidates for MBBS admissions has led to a controversy.
Students who appeared for NEET have raised concerns that this rule could make students from Telangana, who studied in other states, non-local for admissions. However, Health Minister C Damodar Rajanarasimha assured them that the new order will not be a disadvantage to Telangana students.
On July 19, the department issued GO 33, amending the eligibility criteria for MBBS and Dental admissions. The amended order said the eligibility for the student to get admission under Competent Authority Quota is : “A student must have studied in local educational institutions for at least four consecutive academic years ending with the year they first appeared for or as the case may have first appeared in the relevant qualifying examination”.
Telangana students argue that this could make those who studied Intermediate outside the state ineligible for admissions, while students from other states who studied in Telangana from Class 9 to Intermediate would be eligible.
KTR expresses concern
BRS working president KT Rama Rao expressed concerns about the potential injustice to Telangana students. “The eligibility criteria for nativity fixed by the government is raising several doubts. As Hyderabad has reputed educational institutions, students from other states would come to Hyderabad for studies. With the new guidelines, all of them would become locals and Telangana students, who studied in other states, would become non-locals,” the BRS working president wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Rajanarasimha countered these concerns, stating that the previous BRS government’s GO 114 on July 5, 2017, had similar provisions and that the Congress government is continuing these rules. He clarified that the new GO 33 aligns with the existing policies and that students who studied four consecutive years in combined AP would be considered locals.
Meanwhile, A Sandeep, a student from Mahabubabad district, said there was no issue with the amendment in the NEET admission of 2024-25 and there is no shortfall of MBBS seats. “I am happy to say it’s good for the local students. However, if any student moved to another state for Intermediate, it would cause trouble for them,” he said.
Ch Swathi, a student from Kumurambheem Asifabad district, said: “I completed my school education here and moved to Hyderabad for Intermediate. Both districts are in Telangana, so GO 33 does not affect my NEET admission. I secured an All India Rank 2,40,000 in NEET 2024-25. The new guidelines are not an issue for me, but they might pose problems for those who studied in other states.”
Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) Registrar Dr S Sandhya told TNIE: “GO 33 is intended to determine local and non-local categories and will not affect seat allocation. We have already issued a notification for Undergraduate Medical and Dental course for the academic year 2024-25 under the Competent Authority Quota in government and private medical and dental colleges affiliated to the KNRUHS.”