Faced with controversy over its non-adherence to the stipulation that 50 per cent of postgraduate medical seats be set aside for admission from the government merit list, the Pariyaram Medical College governing body has made it clear that it is not for a confrontation with the State government and that it would cooperate with any decision taken by the government based on social justice on matters of admission from the merit list and fee structure.
M.V. Jayarajan, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader and chairman of the Kerala State Co-operative Hospital Complex and Centre for Advanced Medical Studies (KSCHC & CAMS), the co-operative society that controls the hospital and the medical college formally known as the Academy of Medical Sciences (ACME), said in a press release here on Monday that unlike other private managements running self-financing institutions, the medical college director board was not on a warpath against the government as it always ensured social justice and merit in admitting students to the college.
Welcoming the government's directive that 50 per cent of medical postgraduate seats be set apart for admission from the merit list, Mr. Jayarajan said the college director board had already written to the government its willingness to offer 50 per cent of postgraduate seats to the government. The government had been informed that five seats would be allocated for merit quota admission this year and 15 seats next year, including five seats to be handed over for admitting merit students this year.
As postgraduate classes in medical colleges had begun on April 25 as per the directive of the Medical Council of India (MCI), this proposal was a practical one to avoid expulsion of students who had already started attending classes, Mr. Jayarajan said.
He also said that the seat in the PG General Medicine vacated by the daughter of Health Minister Adoor Prakash would also be offered for admission from the government's merit list. The college had also set apart two postgraduate seats under service quota for doctors serving there, he added.
The KSCHC & CAMS chairman also stated that admissions to the MBBS, BDS, Nursing, Pharmacy and paramedical courses and all medical diploma courses in the college were being made in strict adherence to all conditions and by giving importance to merit. Merit is the norm for admitting students to 85 per cent of the seats in the medical college, while other private medical college either admit students without considering merit or earmark 50 per cent of seats for merit students, he said adding that 85 per cent of students admitted to the courses in the medical college are from the government's merit list. The college levied from 85 per cent of students in each course the tuition fee fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee headed by P.A. Mohammed, he said noting that other self-financing medical colleges had taken the decision to collect Rs.3.5 lakh even from the merit students this year.
