Telangana: Kaloji Narayana Rao University adds 2 rounds to counter seat blocking

HYDERABAD: In a first, the Kalolji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) has decided to add two extra rounds of counselling this year after the mop-up round to tackle the seat blocking menace.
Usually, the mop-up round is the last counselling for medical seats. But this year the university is making an exception to fill ‘stray vacancies’ due to students not turning up for the counselling, all suspected to be cases of suspected seat blocking, university authorities said. A total of 120 seats will be filled through these extra rounds.
The university has issued notification for additional stray vacancy round under competent authority quota and another stray vacancy counselling under management quota.
“This is for the first time that we have allowed additional rounds to ensure that genuine candidates do not lose out on the opportunity due to candidates who blocked seats and didn’t turn up,” said KNRUHS vice chancellor Dr B Karunakar Reddy.
'About 100 seats to be filled in stray round'
The VC further said: "We completed the stray round on Sunday for competent authority quota which had 20 clinical seats.
Around 100 seats including 10 clinical seats will be filled in the additional stray round for the management quota."
Since the beginning university authorities have maintained that they are taking all measures to curb seat blocking to ensure genuine candidates get a fair chance.
"As an exceptional case this time we have included additional rounds keeping in mind the suspected seat blocking issue," he said, adding, "We do not have additional rounds every year. Also, as counselling has extended for almost six months this year, it has allowed us time to include additional rounds," he added.
Meanwhile, up to 2017 the university had only two rounds of counselling and a mop-up round was included after students went to court seeking another round. This year for the additional rounds the university has gone by the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court for mop-up rounds in allowing only new candidates for additional stray rounds.
Any candidate who had previously applied for a seat has been restricted from applying for the stray rounds.
Students, however, are now crying foul over this move. They claim it will give students who scored less marks a chance over the meritorious candidates.