Stalemate over private medical test

Hyderabad: Confusion reigns supreme over holding the special medical entrance test for admission into first year MBBS course in private medical colleges in both the states as the decision on the contentious issue has been kept pending for the past few weeks.

As the state Governor who had to clear the file, declined to act, it is now up to the new governments to take a call on the issue. The new government in Telangana took charge just a few days back and in Andhra Pradesh, the new dispensation is yet to assume charge. It takes some time for both the governments to study the issue and come to a view, sources said.

But the managements of the private colleges, who had all the clearances from both Supreme Court and the state High Court, have been in a hurry to conduct the test this year itself. “The governments can go ahead with the court’s directive. All the legal hurdles have been cleared,” a top functionary of the private managements association told The Hans India. But a decision over separate medical entrance test _ at a time when EAMCET results and counselling are few days away _ cannot be taken, keeping in view the intricacies involved, a top official of the government opined. More so, separate tests conducted by private managements can tantamount to huge escalation in MBBS expenses. Several student bodies, parents and public organisations have voiced concern over it and demanded status quo. Keeping all these things in mind, it is unlikely that the new governments will give their nod for it. “How can we take an unpopular decision as we took over just now? Cabinet has to study the issue. Though nothing can be said at this juncture, we will try our best to see that the existing policy continues for this year,” T Rajaiah, Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Health said. The Private Colleges Managements Association (PCMA) - which got recognition only a few weeks back- has for now adopts ‘wait and watch policy’. “We cannot go further at this juncture. Let the dust settles. We will see the approach of the new governments,” a key functionary of the association said.

‘Minutes wrongly noted’

The association is peeved over what it called as ‘wrong interpretation of their views in the minutes’. “We met the advisor to the Governor and submitted our views. It was mentioned that we agreed for counselling by the NTR University of Health Sciences. It’s wrong. We never said it. How can we lose our right for which we fought in Supreme Court. We expressed our willingness for a test- on the lines of EAMCET- conducted by a mutually agreeable agency. That’s it,” the member stated. Meanwhile, the government has reportedly sent a letter to Medical Council of India (MCI) - seeking guidelines over the ‘private test’. But official sources said that there is no possibility of a decision till the new governments clear it.