Seat Blocking in PG medical admissions: Telangana HC issues directions to KNRUHS

Hyderabad: Finding the unscrupulous issue of seat blocking being rampant during the PG medical admission season, the Telangana High Court has issued a set of directions to the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) which is conducting the NEET PG, NEET MDS counselling 2019 for Telangana medical colleges.

According to recent media accounts; KNRUHS has been directed to conduct counselling in such a manner that deserving PG medical aspirants don't get exploited by the management of private medical colleges.

In addition, the HC bench directed the varsity to examine the option of taking original certificates of all PG medical candidates who might have applied for seats and retaining the same with the university at the time of certificate verification. It also gave liberty to KNRUHS to come up with further solutions so that the commercialization of medical education could be curbed, if not completely eradicated.

The directives were passed in view of the petition filed by one PG medical aspirant, Dr P Rajendra Prasad who charged the authorities and private medical colleges with resorting to several irregularities in conducting PG Medical admissions' process under management quota and convenor (Government) quota.

The bench directed the varsity to fix a schedule for counselling rounds and stated,

Fix the schedule for counselling in the first phase, the second phase and the mop-up round, both for the convenor quota and the management quota in such a manner that the last date for reporting to the colleges, upon allotment of seats under every category and counselling, shall be fixed much before the beginning of the next round of counselling in the next category.

TOI reports that the bench explained stating that for instance, if the first phase of counselling for allotment of seats under the convenor quota is held on the first and second day of April and the last date for reporting of candidates allotted in the first phase of counselling under the convenor quota is fixed as 8th or 9th day of April, then the date for first phase of counselling for admission under the management quota shall be fixed on or after the 10th day of April, so that only those who failed to join are allowed to participate.

Similarly, if the date for the second phase of counselling for convenor quota is fixed as April 20 and 21 and the last date for admission is fixed as April 30, then the second phase of counselling under the management quota shall be fixed on or after the 1st of May, the bench added.

Further on the part of mop-up counselling, the bench asserted,

"The mop-up counselling shall be conducted only after the expiry of the last date for reporting of students allotted under the management quota in the second phase of counselling.

According to Deccan Chronicle, the bench further clarified that mop-up counselling should be conducted for management quota seats only after the last date for reporting of candidates allotted under the convenor quota.

Giving its suggestion, the court stated,

The University may examine the option of taking the original certificates of all candidates and retaining the same with them even at the time of certificate verification so that the candidates are not used as pawns by the private colleges.

Immediately after allotment, the university itself may forward the certificates to the college to which the candidate is allotted, so that the candidates are prevented from blocking of seats.

SEAT BLOCKING

Seat Blocking is an act by high ranking candidates first opting for a particular seat in a counselling round and then not joining the same, making the seat available for the next round.

Earlier, the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) had submitted a representation to the top authorities at KNRUHS.

In their official letter to the Vice-Chancellor/Registrar, KNRUHS, the HRDA President had put forth a list of steps demanding the concerned officials to execute them so as to curb seat blocking which ruins the chances of genuine merit students to get PG medical seats under management quota.

Read Also: Curb Seat Blocking in Management Quota: Medicos tell KNRUHS

Earlier, the Medical Counselling committee (MCC) had issued a stringent warning to such candidates/colleges who indulge in seat blocking.

Read Also: Seat Blocking in PG Medical Counselling: MCC issues warning to Candidates and medical colleges