A large number of top ranking medical aspirants from the State have appealed to the Centre to conduct a third round of allotment for admissions in all India Medical quota, after hundreds of them have been denied a seat in the second allotment.
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Hundreds of students who scored above 600 marks in the NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) from Kerala have been disappointed at denial of a medical seat in the all India quota. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) has completed the second allotment and is set to give the unfilled seats to the respective States.
Students from States such as Kerala, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh fared exceptionally well in this year’s NEET, and the 15 per cent MBBS seats reserved in the all India quota remained their main hope of studying in a government medical college. But after the second allotment and considering the return of a number of students to their home States because of COVID-19 scare, more than 30 per cent of the seats are expected to fall vacant in the all India quota. If the MCC returns the vacant seats to their respective States after the second allotment, hundreds of eligible students from States like Kerala and Rajasthan are going to lose the seats they deserve by their ranks.
“This is where we want MCC to conduct a third round of allotment. That is the only option to save this heartburn of deserving students. When our students who scored 610 marks are denied admissions in a government medical college, students in other States make it to government medical colleges with much less marks. We are saddened by this discrepancy. The problem can be addressed by conducting a third round of allotment in the all India quota,” said P.P. Basheer, who coordinated mass memorandums sent to top officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Mr. Basheer’s daughter Nihla scored 606 marks and her NEET rank is 17,332. “It is sad to see our meritorious children being denied a government seat,” he said.
Admissions to All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) are also being made from NEET ranks. AIIMS and JIPMER will have a third mop-up allotment round too.
Until 2016, four rounds of allotment were made in the all India quota. By reducing the allotment to two rounds, many seats are being denied for deserving students.
“It also defeats the very purpose of all India quota, which has been introduced to provide a level playing field across India for top ranking students of different States,” said Leo Luka from Thiruvananthapuram, whose daughter Snigda Leo was denied a seat in spite of scoring 609 marks.
They also pointed out that as per NEET rules, all States should complete their first allotment before the second allotment of all India quota. But in several States, including Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the first allotment is still not over.
“What we find here is an open denial of justice to our students who are eligible for admission in all India Quota,” said Mr. Luka. He said third allotment was the only way out to address the discrepancy, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 situation.