Wait is over: PG medical admissions from Monday

NEET RESULTS OUT ON JAN 31 Maratha, EWS quotas to be included once there’s clarity

MUMBAI: The admission process for post-graduate (PG) medical and dental courses in the state will begin from February 25, almost a month after the results of National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test (NEET) were declared on January 31.

The delay was owing to the lack of clarity in implementation of reservations for the Maratha and economically weaker section (EWS). While the state government is yet to issue guidelines on the two quotas, the state common entrance test (CET) cell decided to begin the candidate registration process to meet the Supreme Court’s April 5 deadline to issue the first list of college allotments. The CET cell has also obtained the state-wide NEET-PG ranking list of candidates from the Medical Council of India (MCI), clearing another hurdle in way of admissions.

The cell said it would incorporate the impending guidelines whenever the state issues them. “We have formed a committee of officials to prepare the admission brochure and will conduct the admissions according to the document. Whenever the government issues any directives, we will change the process accordingly,” said Anand Rayate, commissioner, CET cell.

While the state general administration department, on February 12, issued a government resolution (GR) about implementing the 10% EWS quota, introduced

by the Centre, the medical education and research department will take another day or two to issue specific guidelines for medical and dental admissions. “The file related to the reservation is still under consideration. The guidelines will be issued in a couple of days or even earlier,” said a government official.

The CET cell, for the first time, has also decided to allow candidates to confirm their admissions and pay their fees at 12 designated SETU centres across the state, instead of visiting individual colleges. The fees will have to be paid

in the form of a bank demand draft or through an online gateway, although the cell is still exploring the viability of the online payment system. The payments will be made after the physical verification of their documents at these centres.

The candidates no longer have to visit a college to cancel their admission. They will be able to do so at the SETU centres. “Earlier, if candidates wanted to cancel their admission or apply somewhere else, the colleges would refuse to return their documents and the fees. Hence, we decided to collect the fee centrally, so that it can be returned immediately after the cancellation. The centralised cancellation system will make it easier for students to get their fees and documents back,” said Rayate.

However, the parents are concerned about the delay in the admission process.

“We have faced similar issues in the past. The candidates are hassled as they don’t get much time to fill the form and confirm their admissions,” said Mahendra Chaudhari, parent of an MBBS student.