Date:18/06/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/06/18/stories/2008061860500300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Medical seat aspirants in a limbo till last round

Deepa Kurup

BANGALORE: Admissions to professional colleges in Karnataka has evolved over the years from chaos to a certain sense of order and transparency, with the creation in 2007 of the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) by the State, and the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMED-K) as the consortium for private colleges.

A large number of students and parents will agree that the system in place is both methodical and transparent, and simplifies what all students who have been through it will agree, is an excruciating process. While other States continue to grapple with a centralised admission procedure where the government allocates seats to both private and government colleges, the COMED-K offers a streamlined procedure for its own entrance tests and admissions. The private consortium is, incidentally, the first of its kind in the country.

However, this system too leaves much to be desired. Many students who attended the medical seat selection process last week, for example, found that their first round of seat selection was provisional. With 10 medical colleges in the State (six government and four private) still awaiting recommendation for recognition from the Medical Council of India, the number of seats on offer went down by about 600.

While the KEA was quick to reassure students that the seats would re-enter the pool during the casual vacancy round, as far as students are concerned, there is a two-month wait ahead before they can know about their admission status. The situation was similar last year too.

Sravya, a medical aspirant, says that it is completely unsettling to hold the selection in two phases. “For students like me who do not have the top ranks, it is status quo for the next two months. We thought that since CET would get over first we could decide before seat selection begins in other places that we have applied to,” she explains. Why did KEA start the process of seat allocation when the status of 600 medical seats is uncertain? Why is it that year after year the Medical Council of India keeps its inspections for the last minute? Sources said that inspections in some of these colleges were conducted on June 3, while the counselling for medical seats commenced on June 2.

The COMED-K will begin its seat selection procedure on June 23.