Karnataka - Bangalore

Private medical colleges unveil new policy on admissions

Staff Reporter

The entrance test procedure will be transparent, Karnataka High Court told

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Private Medical Colleges' Association on Monday filed in the Karnataka High Court its new policy on the admission procedure to be followed by colleges coming under it for the undergraduate and postgraduate (PG) medical and dental courses for 2006-2007.

In its 15-page proposal submitted before Justice N. Kumar, the association said it had evolved the admission procedure keeping in mind the Supreme Court rulings in the T.M.A. Pai, Islamia Academy and P.A. Inamdar cases.

It said the entrance test procedure would be transparent and reasonable and admissions would be based on merit. Such admissions, it hoped, would take care of the poor and backward sections of society and would be subject to the approval and accommodation by the Fee Fixation Committee.

The association said the management of institutions coming under it would conduct a common entrance test and centralised counselling. It said the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) would conduct the test.

The managements had decided to categorise admissions by setting aside some seats for non-resident Indian (NRI) category/in-service candidates and institutional preference.

PG admissions

For PG courses, the institutions would earmark 25 per cent of the seats in medicine and dentistry for Karnataka "domiciled" students from weaker sections. These students would be given freeships and scholarships. The association was in the process of formulating an appropriate policy and mechanism to identify and facilitate such groups and their admissions.

Of the rest 75 per cent of the seats, 10 per cent would be set aside for the NRI category, 5 per cent each for in-service and institutional preference categories.

The available seats in all these categories would be notified, applications called for from eligible candidates who had passed the entrance examination.

It said 55 per cent of the seats would be set aside for general category and of this 50 per cent would be reserved for Karnataka domiciled students. Except for admissions under the NRI category, all other admissions would be made under a common/single window counselling.

It was only after exhausting the merit list completely, seats would be released to all the respective institutions for being filled up.

Undergraduate courses

For undergraduate medical and dental courses, 25 per cent of the seats would be earmarked for students from weaker sections who would be given scholarships and freeships.

It said the managements may impose certain conditions.

The minimum merit to qualify for the examination would be 55 per cent, the financial income of the candidate/parent should be below Rs. 2 lakhs a year.

It said the fees would be uniform for all categories, except for students admitted under the NRI category.

The students admitted under the NRI quota would pay higher fees.

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