HC tells Health Varsity to change counselling dates to eradicate blocking techniques

HYDERABAD: In a significant order that is capable of plugging the loopholes like some students blocking the PG medical seats at the behest of private medical colleges, the Telangana high court on Wednesday directed the registrar of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences in Telangana to fix the schedules for counselling in PG medical admissions in such a manner that there is no scope for deriving undue monetary gains by the private colleges.

The bench of Justice V Ramasubramanian and Justice A Rajasheker Reddy gave a series of directions after hearing a plea by Dr P Rajendra Prasad of Manthani from Karimnagar district who charged the authorities and private colleges with resorting several irregularities in making these admissions under management quota and also convenor quota. The bench while making it clear that it can only attempt to set right things prospectively and not retrospectively, gave a series of directions to the registrar of the health varsity.

The bench directed the university to 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.

For instance, the bench explained, 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 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 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, the bench said.

It also directed that the mop-up counselling should be conducted for management quota seats also, but it shall be done only after the last date for reporting of candidates allotted under the convenor quota in the mop-up counselling. 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, the bench suggested. 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. The university may also come up with further solutions so that the commercialization of medical education could be curbed, if not completely eradicated, the bench said.