Admissions to the Cochin Medical College (CMC) this year are unlikely to happen under the government college category as the high-level panel set up to study the issue may take more than a month to establish a framework for the takeover.
Allotment process
Though the counselling for medical college admissions through the national NEET examinations is yet to begin, highly placed sources said that since the seats were already under the list of medical colleges that would be part of the national allotment process, admissions would take place as in previous years.
The official said that the high-level panel’s work is likely to take some time and it would not be easy to declare the takeover without tying up all loose ends. All the aspects of takeover need to be dealt with so that the functioning of the college would not be affected.
However, sources in the medical college believe that if the government is keen on processing the takeover quickly, admissions can be done as under a government college.
An administrative expert said that formation of a committee is a delaying tactic. Citing the example of the transfer of the Malabar Cancer Centre functioning under the Ministry of Power to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the expert said that it had taken just a single note by the then Power Minister (Pinarayi Vijayan). It has been functioning under the Health administration without any glitches for the past seven years, he said.
NRI seats
The delay in the takeover again throws open the speculation over the sale of medical college seats under the NRI category.
