The second round of the single-window counselling for admissions to medical and dental courses was stalled around 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday as sections of the aspirants’ parents protested demanding their wards be admitted to a private college.
On Tuesday, counselling began for 261 MBBS and BDS seats that were returned from the all-India quota to the State by the Directorate General of Health Services and the vacancies arising from students not joining in allotted colleges. A total of 20 seats were allotted on Tuesday.
However, parents complained that the Rajah Muthiah Medical College, a private medical institution, had in its prospectus mentioned the annual fee as ₹5.80 lakh, whereas at the counselling they were informed the fee was only ₹4 lakh. Citing this, some of them said they had not originally opted to be wait-listed for the college as the fee was high.
“Now, we hear the fee is only ₹4 lakh. I could have managed to pay it. But since we had not opted to get wait-listed during the first round of counselling, we are being denied a seat,” a parent from Namakkal, whose daughter had secured a NEET score of 468, said.
Medical Selection secretary G. Selvarajan said the private college had reduced the fee structure just two days ahead of counselling, following a Supreme Court ruling.
Though the prospectus listed the old fee, candidates who opted for the college were informed during the counselling about the change, he said.
One section of parents said had the government opted to implement the 10% Economically Weaker Section quota in medical admissions, the State would have gotten more seats.
Officials said only 1,054 of the 2,246 eligible candidates attended. Counselling for the remaining seats would be held on Wednesday and Thursday.
