MP: DMER asked to probe into certificates of ST quota merit list of NEET

Bhopal:The Directorate Medical Education and Research (DMER), has been asked by the Madhya Pradesh State Scheduled Tribe Commission, to conduct a through examination of the caste certificates submitted by ST quota merit holders in National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), 2016, before giving them admission in medical colleges here.

The demand comes in the face of a revelation stating that a number of students who have been named in the ST quota merit list are from non specified communities. The union government’s decision to make NEET, the only qualifying mark for admissions into MBBS courses, has become a point of unrest among various private and government medical colleges.

Admission in the ST quota for medical courses is a raging topic of discussion in MP. "The first merit list of the reserved category, ST, in NEET, 2016 , has at least 80 students from different districts of Madhya Pradesh, who are not entitled to claim benefits meant for scheduled tribes," reads a complaint with the commission.

"Just go through their surnames, anyone can make out that they belong to the communities, which have been removed from ST category by both union and state government," said Vipin Toppo, Acting President, National SC/ST Federation in MP. "Many of them are from Keer, Meena, Dimar and Pardhi communities that were removed from the list of scheduled tribes, way back in 2005. They are trying to take the benefits, using forged certificates," claimed Toppo.

According to Toppo, if the ST certificates are not verified before granting of admission, it would give rise to another scam.

The complaint has also been signed by Guljar Singh, Markam, Convenor of Gondwana Mahasabha, and others.