NRI SEATS ARE BEING MISUSED, ALLEGE PARENTS

SHORT

Parents of NRI students have alleged that seats under the NRI category were being misused in the state. They alleged that the university had failed to hold a document verification programme for NRI candidates.

They also demanded to know the actual meaning of the terms ‘NRI’ and ‘NRI seat’ before the beginning of counselling.

The parents asked if the university had checked all documents to determine the claim of NRI (Person of Indian Origin or Overseas Citizen of India) status of all candidates, in accordance with the Supreme Court judgement last year.

The government had allotted 15 per cent of the seats for NRI students and their families for admission to MBBS and BDS courses in private medical colleges and deemed universities. The TS medical counselling management quota list was declared on July 11 and published again on the health university website on July 16.

A total of 4,133 candidates applied under the management ‘B’ category seats and 428 under the ‘C’ (NRI) category. This included students from the minority quota. Candidates who opted for the ‘C’ (NRI) quota must submit documents to support their claim, which should be checked by the Medical Council of India and the health university.

An OCI holder and resident of Australia, Nishidhar Reddy Borra, said, “The health university failed to call for document verification of NRI candidates and to determine the actual meaning of ‘NRI’ and ‘NRI seat’ before the start of counselling. The website notification and prospectus indicate that the management and NRI document verification will be done soon and the date will be announced. However, no date was announced and the counselling began directly.”He said no verification was done on NRI status and seats were allotted to whoever expressed their interest by filling up the online form. Candidates who scored less in NEET used the NRI quota to get a seat. The NRI ‘C’ category needs to be renamed as ‘payment seats for Indians’, he added.

A parent said, “The University should take up a proper checking procedure to determine authentic documentation and if this has not been done then the varsity should extend the counselling date especially for the ‘C’ (NRI) quota.”

He asked the university to look into the serious concerns and address the issue as soon as possible, and also determine the interpretation of the word ‘NRI’.