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The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has now made provision for common counselling at the State level for medical courses admissions at the under graduate and post graduate levels. with this mote, admissions to all medical colleges including private and deemed universities will be conducted through a State-level common counselling on merit based on the marks obtained by aspirants in the National Eligibility-cum- Entrance Test.

As per amendments made in Medical Council of India regulations, the designated authority will conduct common counselling for all medical education institutions established either by central or state Government, university, deemed university, trust, society, company, minority Institutions or the corporation. The move aimed at bringing transparency and curbing the practice of capitation fee charged by private colleges. 

A notification dated March 10 by the MOHFW has made it mandatory for all State governments to conduct the common counselling for admission in MBBS and post graduate medical courses like MS and MD from the coming academic year admissions. It means all Class 12 students passing out this year must appear for NEET, if they aspire to study MBBS in any college or deemed university in the State. There is still much opposition in Tamil Nadu over making NEET mandatory for medical admissions. But with few options left to legally challenge the Central government’s move, it seems taking NEET is now compulsory for MBBS aspirants.

A letter of a Union ministry official to Principal Secretaries of all State governments dated March 10 stated that there shall be no exemption from the common counselling and all institutions, including private medical colleges/deemed universities shall be covered under it. While introduction of NEET is facing much political opposition, a section of experts welcome the common merit-based counselling and said this will end exorbitant fee for MBBS courses charged by private medical colleges and deemed universities. This will put an end to sale of seats by private colleges.

C V Bhirmanandam, Vice-President of Medical Council of India said that presently, private colleges arbitrarily fix the fees based on each student who approaches them for a seat. A common counselling will streamline the admission process and the fee. He said the admissions in private medical colleges will also be based only on merit and private colleges will not be able to sell the seats.

L P Thangavel, past president of Tamil Nadu unit of the Indian Medical Association, said the common counselling was a welcome move and the best thing for the student community as it ensured merit-based admissions for all medical seats. While the common medical admissions may do away with donations and capitation fee that private colleges demand, he said governments should take steps to safeguard the interests of private colleges. He said fees must be fixed by the government for private colleges by taking into consideration the expenditures incurred by them.

However, the recent notification amending the two laws that govern admissions for MBBS and PG courses are silent on fees the medical colleges can collect. The Centre has made the amendments to the Graduate Medical Education Regulations, 1997 and the Post-Graduate Medical Education Regulation 2000, to make the State-level counselling compulsory. Admissions under the 15 per cent All India-quota in State government-run colleges will continue to be governed by Director-General of Health Services (DGHS), functioning under the Union Health Ministry, the letter said.

“So far, private medical colleges were not under the control of the government at all. The State government must implement this without delay,” said T Satva, who is aspiring to join a post-graduate medical course and hopes the new system will end the exorbitant fees collected by private colleges.