"It is complete miscoordination between the state government and National Medical Commission (NMC)," said Dr Rajiv Ranjan Prasad, Director of Radha Devi Jageshwari Memorial (RDJM) Medical College, Bihar. This was said in relation to the new notice issued by NMC on October 19 which nullifies the MBBS Undergraduate (UG) counselling conducted after September 30.
"It has come to the knowledge of the National Medical Commission about the conduct of UG MBBS Counselling (both through online and offline mode) by several States (such as State of Maharashtra; State of Bihar, State of West Bengal etc) beyond the cut-off date i.e. 30th September, 2023," the NMC's notice read.
Further, it added, "The National Medical Commission vide Public Notice dated 27.07.2023 has intimated to the stakeholders regarding the cut-off date for conducting the UG MBBS Counselling i.e. 30th September, 2023. Any admission or conduct of counselling beyond the cut-off date is in violation of the notice issued by NMC as well as in violation of the judgments passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court of India."
As per reports, more than 500 students will be affected, mainly from Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal.
Counselling dates
Speaking on this matter, Dr Rajiv Ranjan said, "On September 30, counselling was held for 1,100 seats in Bihar. Among these, 700 seats are in government colleges while the remaining 400 seats are in private colleges." Adding more, he said, "This decision of NMC is anti-student, anti-human and unacademic."
"The NMC was insisting on filling the vacant seats but now, what is the idea of wasting seats by issuing such notices? Isn't this inhuman?" he questions. Additionally, he said besides these alleged 1,100 seats, 150 seats are lying vacant for which a stray counselling and choice filling was done. However, even before the list was out, NMC's notice appeared, he adds.
Further, alleging that this nullification is purely done because of the complete miscoordination between the state government and NMC, he said the NMC is not being mindful of students.
Prior notices
The former National Vice-President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Dr Meet Ghonia recalls saying "NMC has already issued notices four to five months prior, so it is the responsibility of the state counselling committee to follow the guidelines."
Moreover, "The sole purpose of NMC is to bring uniformity across India for initiating MBBS courses and completion of the course so that the deadline for the next examination can be decided," he adds. Since the matter is between the state counselling committee and NMC, Dr Meet Ghonia opines the responsibility lies on the state counselling committees.
