Medical aspirants, parents left high and dry during counselling

All seats for MBC candidates filled in second session itself

Candidates called for MBBS, BDS counselling on Friday were upset as all seats in the MBC category were declared filled by the second session.

Friday was the fourth day of counselling, dedicated to MBC students. The Directorate of Medical Education had called candidates in sessions — 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Around 3 p.m., the DME issued a notification on its website stating that seats in the MBC category for MBBS in all government medical colleges, IRT Perundurai, Rajah Muthiah Medical College, ESIC and government quota seats in self-financing medical and the government dental colleges were exhausted.

Further, counselling for candidates called for the 4 p.m. session and 9 a.m., session on Saturday were cancelled.

The waiting candidates and parents became restive after hearing the news. They wanted the officials to explain the position and refused to leave the venue. The parents staged a sit-in refusing to budge from the entrance to the hospital, the venue of counselling. “We have been waiting since morning. Why do they call so many candidates if there are not enough seats,” asked a frustrated mother.

A parent from Neyveli said her son had scored 384 marks in NEET. Another parent from Ariyalur, whose son had also scored 384, said they had arrived at 6 a.m. in the city for the 4 p.m. session but by 11 a.m. itself, all seats in government colleges were filled, he said.

On Saturday, counselling will be held for SC category seats and on Sunday counselling for admission to Christian Medical College, Vellore, (10 a.m.) and Indian Road Transport Medical College, Perundurai (9 a.m) will be held. The list of candidates called for counselling for admission in the CMC’s minority networks will be published in www.tnhealth.org and www.tnmedicalselection

.org , officials said.

Counselling for management quota seats will be held from Monday. At the end of counselling on Friday, 904 seats remained vacant in self-financing dental colleges. A total of 232 seats in self-financing medical colleges and 260 seats in government medical colleges in the SC, SCA and ST categories remained vacant.