The Opposition UDF staged a walkout in the Assembly on Tuesday, accusing the government of bungling the admission to medical colleges and abetting self-financing institutions in fleecing students.
The government assured the House that the admission process was on course and that it would be completed before the scheduled date of August 31. Refuting the Opposition charge that the admission was rigged to help self-financing colleges make a killing out of spot admissions, Health Minister K.K. Shylaja said the government would go by the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court for admission to medical courses.
Replying to the notice for an adjournment motion moved by former Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar, she maintained that the government would fill the seats remaining after the allotment through spot admission.
The Minister said 90% of the seats in government medical colleges had been filled in the first phase of allotment based on the NEET merit and that private self-financing colleges were participating in the second round of the allotment. Asserting that there was no confusion over the allotment of seats, she said the government had no role in fixing the fee decided by the Fee Regulatory Committee.
Moving the notice, Mr. Sivakumar said the the admission process had plunged into confusion and uncertainty. “There is no clarity on seats and fee and students are left to face unending confusion,” he alleged.
He said the ordinance introduced by the government to regulate admission to private medical institutions would not stand judicial scrutiny. “It is part of a hidden agenda to help private medical colleges,” he alleged.
Accusing the government of groping in the dark, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala said private medical colleges stood to gain from the confusion over the admission process. He blamed the situation on a series of lapses committed by the government.
Mr. Chennithala urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to intervene and resolve the impasse that had affected hundreds of students. He also demanded that Ms. Shylaja be shifted from the Health portfolio.
The UDF members trooped out after Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan refused to permit a debate on the issue.