Date:23/07/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/07/23/stories/2004072309060400.htm

Andhra Pradesh

Medical counselling hits roadblock

By Our Special Correspondent

Aspirants of medical seats and their parents protesting against the decision to put on hold admissions under the 5 per cent quota to Muslims at NTR University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada on Thursday.

VIJAYAWADA, JULY 22. On expected lines, the counselling for admissions into the medical and dental colleges in the minority quota ran into rough weather on Thursday with the NTR University of Health Sciences authorities putting the admissions under the newly reserved quota in abeyance following the stay granted by the High Court.

In its interim orders passed on the issue in response to a petition challenging the 5 per cent quota for Muslims, the High Court directed the State Government to put on hold the admissions to the seats earmarked under the quota until further orders.

The High Court's interim order was communicated to the NTR-UHS authorities who, in turn, announced suspension of the counselling process pending the final judgment on the issue.

With this, the admission to over 100 seats, constituting the five per cent quota for Muslims, had been put in abeyance till further orders from the High Court.

Confusion

The decision only compounded the confusion over the implementation of rule of reservation for minorities as the authorities suspended counselling for Muslims falling under other categories including those aspiring for admission into the Deccan College of Medical Sciences too.

The university's decision immediately sparked off angry protests from the aspiring students and their parents who descended on the NTR-UHS campus in large number following a notification on counselling for admissions in the minority quota issued a couple days ago.

The anxious parents who tried to gatecrash into the Vice-Chancellor's office in protest against the suspension of counselling process were seen arguing with the authorities for some time.

Complaints

They complained that this sort of bungling was not new for NTR-UHS as the students were forced to lose over 69 seats during the previous year's admissions too due to "the mistakes committed by the authorities concerned."

It was only after the authorities announced, after due consultation with the State Government, the resumption of counselling for other categories of the Backward Classes that normalcy was restored on the premises.

Speaking to newsmen later, the Vice-Chancellor, R. Sambasiva Rao, said that the university was compelled to suspend the proceedings for filling the seats as announced earlier due to the High Court's interim orders. "We are compelled to stop the process until the final orders of the High Court," he said.

He clarified that the admissions to the seats reserved for minority community candidates in the Deccan College of Medical Sciences would, however, continue as usual.