The admission prospects of a large number of MBBS aspirants from the State have suffered a setback with the cancellation of the All India Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Entrance Test (AIPMT) and the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Medical Entrance Examination by the authorities citing irregularities.
As many as 30 students from the State had cleared the AMU entrance test held in April this year while at least 1,000 were expecting to clear the AIPMT for MBBS/BDS admissions in different States.
Re-examination
While the authorities have ordered re-examinations in August, there is no guarantee on how many students will take the examinations for a second time.
According to observers, almost all students who take the State Medical Entrance Examinations also take the national-level entrance examinations without fail.
A good number of students who secure high ranks in the State Entrance Examinations usually opt for admissions in superior medical colleges outside the State every year, clearing decks for lower-ranking students from the list to get admissions in the State medical colleges.
“This year, however, one is not sure how many will take the risk of a second attempt at the national-level tests forgoing the seat in hand back home,” says Kerala State Youth Commission member T.P. Ashraf Ali, who finds the cancellation of the national level tests a huge blow to the State’s medical education sector.
“Even if a section of students bother to take the test for a second time, there is no guarantee that they would be able to repeat the good show,” he says.
A large number of students from the State used to get admissions in prominent medical colleges in different parts of the country including the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIMS) every year.
“Around 90 students from the State had secured admissions in different AIMS alone last year,” says Mr. Ali.
‘To affect 1,000’
According to Nishad K. Saleem, chairman of Tech Fed, a federation of technical students, over 1,000 students from the State had obtained admissions in various medical colleges in the country after clearing the AIPM test last year. Once the top rankers in the State entrance decide to join the State medical colleges itself without taking a chance with the national-level re-examinations, it is the opportunities of the relatively lower ranking students from the State that receive a blow. “The present crisis is sure to affect the MBBS admission prospects of at least 1,000 students from the State,” he says.
P. Hiba, who secured first rank in the State Medical Entrance Examinations, also endorses this view. “The cancellation of the national-level test will definitely affect the prospects of students from the State,” she says. Hiba, who also had taken the AIPM test, is now planning to join the Kozhikode Medical College without waiting for a second attempt at AIPMT.
30 from State have cleared AMU entrance test
1,000 were expecting to clear the AIPMT
Lower-ranking students may lose chance if top rankers take admission in State colleges without going for re-exams at national-level
