Admission to management seats to be from entrance rank list

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday directed that admission to management seats in self-financing medical colleges which had entered into an agreement with the government on seat-sharing and fee structure be made from the common entrance rank list published by the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations.

Justice S. Siri Jagan also made it clear that the admission should be made from the rank list in accordance with the merit without changing inter se merit. The judge also ordered that no admission be made in pursuance to the entrance examination conducted by the association of these self-financing college managements.

The interim order was passed on writ petitions challenging the agreements.

In the order, the judge pointed out that the association had conducted its entrance test on July 27, which was against the schedule fixed by the Medical Council of India and the Supreme Court.
The judge said that in view of the Supreme Court ruling, the entire admission process in medical colleges should be made in accordance with the time schedule fixed by the Medical Council of India and the Supreme Court.

The court observed that except the apex court, no other authority could change the schedule. As per the schedule, the entrance test should be conducted in May and the first round of admission should be over by July 25. So, the test by the managements association was directly against the MCI schedule and Supreme Court ruling.

The court had directed earlier that these managements could collect only the fee prescribed by the Fee Regulatory Committee until the Supreme Court approved the agreements reached between the managements and the government. The petitioners contended that refundable deposit and fee for management seats were Rs.5.lakh and Rs.5.5 lakh as per the agreements.
However, the self-financing colleges which refused to ink an agreement with the government could only collect a fee ranging from Rs.2.4 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh prescribed by the Committee.
The petitioners said that the agreements went against the Supreme Court verdict which ruled out capitation fee and provision of cross-subsidy. Therefore, the fee hike was illegal.

Besides, the agreements had not been approved as yet either by the Admission Supervisory Committee or the Supreme Court.

The action of the government was against Article 14 of the Constitution, the petitioners pointed out.
(Source : The Hindu)