Patna Medical College and Hospital

Candidates aspiring to study medicine in state-run medical colleges see little hope of realising their dreams.

The delay in conducting counselling sessions for admission to MBBS courses in government medical colleges in the state has forced students to take entry in colleges outside Bihar, based on their all-India rankings.

The 85 per cent state quota offers Bihar students better chances, over outsiders, of getting admission in the medical colleges in the state. But the delay in counselling has robbed most students of the advantage.

They have been forced to take admission in medical colleges of other states on the basis of the 15 per cent all-India quota.

The common refrain among such students was that if government medical colleges began counselling on schedule, they would have got a chance to study in their home state, something most students crave for.

“I would have loved to study in Patna Medical College and Hospital or Nalanda Medical College and Hospital as I had good all-India and state ranks in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

“So I pinned hopes on the counselling sessions. But they were not held on time,” said Anupam Singh, whose all-India NEET rank was 1509 and state rank 60.

Talking about what he lost, Anupam said: “Studying in your hometown has a lot of benefits. You can save expenditure on accommodation and you do not have to face the language barrier. When you study in a college in another state, you have to deal with several problems. In the second year of MBBS, students have to interact with patients in the outpatient department.

“I have taken admission in Calcutta Medical College and Hospital. So there, I will mostly come across Bengali-speaking people. As I don’t know Bengali, it would pose a challenge for me. Besides, I would miss my family.”

The norms mandate that counselling for admission to MBBS courses in government medical colleges be completed before August so that classes can begin from August. However, this year, the counselling sessions are to begin from August 17 and classes from September.

Sources said counselling sessions in most government medical colleges in Delhi, Calcutta and Chennai have been completed and students have taken admission into their respective colleges.

Asked the reason behind delay in counselling, N.P. Yadav, controller of examination, health department, and NEET state co-ordinator, said: “The NEET results reached me late. So we could not hold counselling on time.”

However, a source said the Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board received the NEET results a month-and-a-half ago and they were sent to Yadav around 20 days ago.

Shubham Suday, who took admission into University College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, said: “My all-India rank is 7,000 and state rank 600. I have taken admission through OBC quota.

“With my state rank, I could have got admission into any government-run college under OBC quota. But delayed counselling for state-run colleges has denied the chance to study in my home state.”

State IMA president Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said: “This is laxity on the part of the officials responsible for holding counselling for admission to MBBS courses in medical colleges in Bihar. Because of delayed counselling, not only is admission getting delayed, the academic session gets delayed too. It is like playing with students’ future.”

IMA vice-president Sunil Kumar said: “I know about a poor student whose state rank was very good but he was forced to take admission in a private medical college outside the state paying Rs 8 lakh as admission fee.

His family struggled to arrange for the fee. Had the counselling taken place on time, he would surely have been selected in one of the state-run medical colleges where he would have had to shell out a monthly fee of just Rs 1,000-1,200.”

LATE ENTRY

 The norm

Counselling: Must be completed before August

Classes: Must begin  in August

 Delay fallout

Admission delayed affecting academic session

 Bigger picture

Candidates aspiring to study in state-run medical colleges lose advantage of state quota and are forced to take admission in other states on the basis of their all-India rank or by paying hefty donation fees in private institutions

Process of counselling

Online registration: August 3-August 11

Where: www.bceceboard.com and www.bcecebonline.com

Roster: Available on Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board website from August 14

Date: From August 17

Fee: Download bank challan from website and use it to deposit fee of Rs 300 for general (unreserved/BC/EBC) category and Rs 225 for SC/ST category in any State Bank of India branch