The Supreme Court on Tuesday did not agree with a suggestion by Kerala private medical college managements to allow them to conduct separate entrance test for their management seats and carry out admissions from the resultant rank list.
Noting that their paramount concern was the welfare of the students, a three-judge Bench headed by Justice H. L. Dattu instead asked the managements to consider admitting students from the Common Entrance Exam (CEE) rank list prepared by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations.
The entrance tests were supposed to be conducted by May 31, 2014 as per a Supreme Court order. Justice J .M. James, heading the Admission Supervisory Committee for Professional Colleges, had also seconded the Supreme Court order and directed the colleges to strictly abide by it.
However, appearing for the private medical colleges’ association on Tuesday, senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan, produced a fresh time schedule by which the entire admission process would be completed by September 30. Mr. Dhavan argued that the Medical Council of India also allowed time till September 30.
But Justice Dattu stood firm saying the revised schedule gave very little time for the students to prepare for the entrance test. The association’s timetable further reduced the academic year too, the court remarked.
“We have always said our objective is the welfare of students. We are intervening in this matter because some day these young people will become good doctors,” Justice Dattu observed.
“Your schedule demands that students file their applications in July. Exams will be held in three days. Where is the time to prepare? Students will be attending exams with butterflies in their tummies. Moreover, results will be out in the next three days...” Justice Dattu observed. The court even passed comments on the lack of time for students to study during the academic year, in case the September 30 deadline was granted. “He hardly gets seven to eight months... How does he study? These are young medical students studying to treat human beings,” Justice Dattu remarked.
The court further asked whether students from the government list could be accommodated in the management seats of the private medical colleges. However, the association strongly objected to this proposal citing a marked difference in the fee structure between government and management seats. It told the court that the colleges would not be able to afford the reduced fees that students from government list would pay.
The Bench has posted the case for July 24.
