In the midst of a heated controversy surrounding medical admissions, a viable solution remains elusive, leaving the future of more than 440 MBBS and dental students in limbo. These students were admitted after the National Medical Commission's (NMC) cutoff date of September 30, a move that the NMC has deemed invalid in a notification dated October 19, citing Supreme Court orders, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
Despite Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister N Rangasamy writing to the Central government for rule relaxation, there hasn't been any no response from NMC. Therefore, doubts persist regarding the success of this effort.
Letters to NMC
The turmoil began when the Ministry of Home Affairs granted approval for a 10% quota in medical admissions on September 4, kick-starting the admissions process. Recognising the impossibility of completing the process by the September 30 deadline, Puducherry's Health Secretary in September wrote to NMC requesting an extension of the counselling schedule until October 20. Despite multiple letters, no response was received from NMC.
Chief Minister N Rangasamy also wrote to the NMC, but responses from the NMC are still pending, Health Secretary Pankaj Kumar Jha told The New Indian Express. The oral communications from the NMC appeared positive, leading to the creation of a seat matrix that includes the 10% reservation for government school students. However, this was subsequently revised to align with the government's new policy, and counselling commenced on September 18.
Missed the counselling
Unfortunately, Puducherry missed the first three counselling schedules set by the NMC, with only the first round being completed before the September 30 deadline, and the rest finalised on October 15. Though the proposal was sent in July, a few days before the commencement of the admission scheme, the delay in granting approval by the Central government was attributed to the previous government, with the current Lieutenant Governor Dr Soundararajan clarifying and eventually obtaining approval.
Now, in a precarious situation, Dr Soundararajan has criticised officials for the delay in starting counselling, stating that action will be taken against those responsible. The government has once again written to the NMC on October 22, hoping for approval, citing the genuine reasons for the delay.
Meanwhile, political parties such as the CPI (M) (Communist Party of India (Marxist)) and AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) have accused the government of favouring private medical colleges by causing delays and have called for an investigation. The State Secretary of AIADMK, A Anbazhagan, has demanded that the lieutenant governor and chief minister provide a white paper on the status of students admitted to medical colleges after the NMC's prescribed cut-off date, addressing the concerns of the affected students.
If necessary, the government should take legal recourse in the interest of Puducherry students, said AIADMK Deputy Secretary Vaiyapuri Manikandan, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
