COMEDK: Karnataka government to take a legal recourse

Karnataka government might take a legal recourse to settle the matter of private medical colleges not allowing admissions under the state government quota through COMEDK. They are at first trying to convince the private colleges managements association by holding discussions on the matter. However, a legal option is not ruled out till then, implied the Minister of State for Medical Education Sharanprakash R. Patil.

Dr. Patil in his statement to the media spoke on the matter of the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation to not allow allotment of medical seats under state government quota. He said to the Hindu that it had taken a unilateral decision to allot 85 per cent of their seats on the basis of performance in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) without consulting the government.

The reservation under the state government stands at forty per cent which will be filled through CET as per the recent Neet ordinance. These are strictly for the domestic students of the state. In total, 700 medical seats fall under this quota.

“The Union government’s Ordinance is very clear. We had asked about government seats in colleges to the Union government. They (COMEDK) cannot conduct counselling before July 24 (when NEET II will be held). We will sort it out before that,” he said.

The trouble seems to be mounting for students in the state only after there was clarity given on Neet. Now, 12 private medical colleges and 24 dental colleges have announced their decision not to share their MBBS and BDS seats under the state government quota. It may be noted after the recent ordinance on Neet, COMEDK was the single entrance admission test for admission in private medical colleges for the state government quota. The management quota seats are still through Neet.

The decision was officially announced by the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation (KPCF). This recent development leaves the students only with a choice of admission in medical seats offered in 15 government-run institutes-through the COMEDK.

The decision seems in direct contravention of the announcement made by health minister J P Nadda that government quota seats will be filled in the same way, as earlier in private medical colleges. However, KPCF has implied on the matter that there is no clarity on what exactly government quota is and how much percentage is applied to the reservation of seats under the government quota.