The Union Health Ministry’s positive response to the government’s request to extend the phase of medical admissions has come as a relief to scores of students, who were facing uncertainty after the National Medical Commission (NMC) initially directed the invalidation of admissions held after the stipulated cut-off date of September 30, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said on Thursday.
The Lt. Governor, who undertook an inspection of Centac facility at Kamarajar Manimandapam, told the media that the NMC had subsequently granted an extension till November 15 to conduct special stray vacancy counselling which would mark the completion of the admission schedule for the current academic session.
Attributing the delay that led to admission of about 350 students beyond the September 30 deadline partly to the efforts of the government to secure Central clearance for its proposal to earmark 10% quota for NEET-qualified students from government schools, Ms. Soundararajan said as a result the second round of counselling could be held only after the stipulated cut-off date.
The Chief Minister, N. Rangasamy, had also written to the Union Government seeking extension of deadline and explaining the circumstances for the request, she said. An appropriate explanation was also given on behalf of the government to a notice by the NMC regarding the delayed medical admissions.
While not directly responding to the Opposition demands for a probe into alleged admission irregularities, the Lt. Governor said all efforts were taken to ensure transparency in the admission process. In fact, the publication of provisional list of admissions provides scope for candidates to flag discrepancies, if any, and seek rectification before the list is finalised, the Lt. Governor said.
In response to complaints about failure to complete the modalities of admission within the stipulated period, the Centac had been reconstituted, she said.
Published - November 02, 2023 08:21 pm IST
