All eyes in Kerala are on the Supreme Court as it prepares to give a ruling on the fee structure to be followed for MBBS admissions in the State on Monday.
The allotment itself has proved to be a cliffhanger as a final and binding picture about the fee structure is yet to be had by the thousands of students who have submitted course-college options to the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE).
CEE M.T. Reju told The Hindu that the next round of allotment to MBBS would be done on Sunday and students would have to join colleges on Tuesday and Wednesday. But what if the Supreme Court strikes down the fee structure — ₹5 lakh for 85% seats and ₹20 lakh for the NRI quota — first put in place by the R. Rajendra Babu Fee Regulatory Committee?
SC deadline
Since the SC-mandated last date for admissions to close is August 31, the CEE will be left with virtually no time to call for fresh submission of options.
For the students it will be a last-minute dash to the finish line of an allotment process pock-marked with uncertainties.
Moreover, if there is a SC-mandated fee hike, the students will be left with precious little time to mobilise additional funds.
Students’ fears
“The situation of the students is pitiable. For days on end now the question of a final fee structure has dangled like sword of Damocles over their heads. They don’t know what the fee is, they don’t know who will clarify it for them. With each court verdict things have only become more confusing for the students for no fault of theirs. Each notification of the CEE says the fee will be subject to a final verdict of the courts. It is getting dangerously close to the SC-mandated deadline for admissions to close,” a senior official associated with the allotment process said here.
Of course it is also possible that the SC okays the fee structure of the Rajendra Babu committee.
Then it will be smooth sailing for the students who will finally get an idea as to how much they should cough up to become a doctor.
Meanwhile, the government has directed the Director of Medical Education that all institutions under it should function on August 28. The DME has also been directed to instruct all institution heads to provide transfer certificate and other legal/ necessary documents to students and that neither the students nor parents are put through any inconvenience.
HC nod for admissions
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court on Friday allowed three self-financing medical colleges to conduct admission to the MBBS course.
The court issued the order on a petition filed by the DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences, Al-Azhar Medical College and Superspecialty Hospital, Thodupuzha, and Mount Zion Medical College, Pathanamthitta.
According to the petitioners, the Medical Council of India had granted them permission after rectification of certain deficiencies pointed out by the council.
