MBBS candidates to pay entire course fee as penalty for surrendering seats after mop-up round, Karnataka Govt plans amendment

As per an official, if the candidates surrender seats after the mop-up round, then they should pay entire course fee as penalty which will be transferred to respective colleges.

Bengaluru: In a significant measure towards curbing the menace of MBBS, BDS and other professional seat blocking scam, the Government of Karnataka is likely to amend the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and determination of Fee) Act 2006.

Confirmation to this effect was given officials in the Department of Higher Education, who stated that Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister for Higher Education and Medical Education has apprised officials of both medical and higher education to frame the amendments.

The issue of seat blocking during medical counselling is an issue that crops up every year. Seat Blocking is an act by high ranking candidates first opting for a particular seat in a round and then not joining the same, making the seat available for the next round. It is alleged that many medical colleges collude with the high ranking candidates to indulge in seat blocking so that popular MBBS seats can be made available for lesser deserving candidates who are willing to pay an exorbitant price.

Presently, the existing act does not restrict the candidates from surrendering the allotted seats after the mop-up round. However, with the new amendments being planned, a major change will be witnessed, wherein, candidates will be barred from surrendering medical, dental and other professional course seats after the mop-up round.

As per an official, if the candidates surrender seats after the mop-up round, then they should pay entire course fee as penalty which will be transferred to respective colleges.

It is also being planned to make it mandatory to allot the surrendered seats through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) according to CET and NEET ranking.

Many such cases have been reported in the recent past which subsequently called for a firm regulatory measure. Notably, the state of Karnataka with the maximum number of its medical colleges in the country had seen its many private medical colleges falling under the scrutiny of IT-officials in suspected seat blocking scam.

Officials found that 1079 seats in 3 dozen private deemed universities pan India were vacant and suspected the college administrations to have allotted the MBBS seats via institutional quota. 4 medical colleges in Karnataka including Sri Siddhartha Medical College, Tumakuru; Devaraj Urs Medical College, Kolar; Rajarajeshwari Medical College, Bengaluru and Sri Siddhartha Academy of Higher Education, T Beguru, Bengaluru accounted for 258 vacant MBBS seats out of the 1079 total count.

Also Read: Vacant MBBS seats: IT officials take their scanner to 4 Karnataka Private medical colleges

The state authorities are now making a move to tighten the noose on such malpractices via making amendments in the said act. These amendments will be proposed before signing the consensual agreement with private college managements for the academic year 2020-21 for which the process will begin soon.

"With this, we also plan to write to the Medical Council of India requesting them to direct all states to collect original documents and certificates during the seat allotment. This will help keep scamsters away from the state," the official told Deccan Herald.