Counselling by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) for private postgraduate (PG) medical and dental seats will begin here as scheduled on April 21.
A press release from the consortium said counselling for the 42 per cent seats in member colleges would begin with dental seats on April 21 followed by counselling for medical seats on April 22 and 23.
This is the second time in two years that counselling for COMEDK seats is being held before that for government-quota seats. In the last academic year, counselling for private undergraduate professional seats was held before counselling for government seats and government-quota seats.
EligibleAbout 83 per cent of the 16,856 candidates appeared in the entrance test for medical PG courses conducted in February by COMEDK. As many as 7,587 (55 per cent) candidates became eligible to take part in the seat selection process. A total of 4,723 candidates applied for the dental PG test and 93 per cent of them took the exam. Of these, 3,711 (85 per cent) candidates became eligible to take part in the seat selection process.
The All India Democratic Students’ Organisation has accused the State government of colluding with private college managements by allowing them to fill their seats first.
Apex court orderCOMEDK chief executive A.S. Srikanth said they had no other option but to go ahead with the counselling as the Supreme Court had ruled that the first round of counselling for PG medical courses should be over before April 25. “The government cannot hold counselling now as the case [pertaining to domicile issue] is in court. If we don’t hold our counselling, it will be contempt of court. But the students have the option of surrendering the seats taken in the first round later by opting for provisional allotment if they want to wait for the government-quota counselling,” he said.
Mr. Srikanth added that the second round of counselling would be held in the “fag-end of May”. He also said apart from the 387 medical and 234 dental seats available under the 42 per cent COMEDK quota (as per the consensual agreement signed with the government), more seats were expected to be added to the pool as the Medical Council of India was in the process of approving applications for enhancement of intake in many colleges.
Counselling for two minority colleges that are COMEDK members — Father Muller’s Medical College, Mangalore, and S.D.M. Medical College, Dharwad — will also be done as per schedule.
The Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Colleges Association is likely to decide on counselling dates for admission to its member colleges on Monday.
Like every year, counselling will be held at Mangala Mantapa in NMKRV College in Jayanagar from 8.30 a.m. on all days.
