Guwahati, Aug. 16: The Assam government has asked medical colleges in the state to be extra cautious while admitting students to MBBS courses this year on tea tribe quota as there are reports of students acquiring fake tea tribe certificates.

Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has asked the directorate of medical education to put in place a mechanism to effectively check credentials of selected tea tribe students for MBBS courses in six medical colleges in the state. The mechanism must be equipped to detect immediately if any such student tries to take admission fraudulently.

Counselling and admission for 726 seats in six medical colleges in Assam will start on August 23. Eight seats are reserved for tea tribe and ex-tea tribe.

Sarma has asked the directorate of medical education officials and principals of medical colleges to be extra vigilant during counselling so that frauds can be caught even before the admission process begins.

The health minister's instruction has come after organisations representing the tea community recently alleged that several non-tea tribe students were acquiring tea tribe certificates from various authorities to get admission to medical colleges. Legislators representing the tea community, particularly those from the Congress, recently raised the issue during the budget session of the Assembly.

Congress MLA Rupjyoti Kurmi said there are only few seats reserved for the tea tribe and ex-tribe in MBBS courses. If fake students managed to get admission, it would be a great injustice to the tea community, which is lagging behind in every sector, particularly education, he said. Sarma assured the Assembly that not a single non-tea tribe student would manage to get admission in any of the six medical colleges in the state as a tea tribe candidate.

Anup Kumar Barman, director of medical education, told The Telegraph that the directorate is aware of the development and was accordingly taking measures to detect frauds.

"We will put a mechanism in place during the counselling session to detect fraud students. Any certificate not countersigned by deputy commissioners of respective districts of students seeking admission will not be accepted," Barman said.

The directorate, he said, is vigilant to detect frauds being committed to take admission on other reserved quotas as well.

Out of the 726 MBBS seats in Assam, 109 are reserved for all-India quota, 15 for central pool, 13 under NEC quota, one for Bhutan government quota, 359 for general category, 41 for SC, 59 for ST (Plains), 29 for ST (Hills), 76 for OBS/MOBC, two for freedom fighter's quota, two for martyr's quota, eight for tea tribe and ex-tea tribe, two for victims of extremist violence, four for sar areas, two each for Moran and Motak communities and two for ex-servicemen's families.