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Medical college admissions: How much can you pay?
Many bright careers were nipped in the bud. Many cherished dreams were shattered. For the brilliant but financially weak, the Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell was not the place to be in.
Hundreds of students who attended the medical and dental seat selection process on Monday learnt the bitter truth the hard way — that money dominates merit.
Sad faces and drooping shoulders were indeed a common sight at the CET Cell as many meritorious students returned home dejected. The only reason: they could not afford the fees.
Not that there was any dearth of seats: more than 1,400 medical and 1,300 dental seats were available. But how many parents can shell out Rs 2 lakh per annum as tuition fees for a medical or dental seat?
The astronomical increase in fee for medical and dental courses this year and the absence of “free seats” in private professional colleges has hit the middle and lower income classes hard. Very hard.
“How can I mobilise Rs 2 lakh per annum? I have worked in a private firm for 23 years. But even my life savings will not meet the expenses for my daugther’s medical education. I feel very sorry for my daughter, who had worked so hard for her examinations,” said Manjunath, a parent.
His daughter Vatsala, who had secured the 610th rank, opted out of the seat selection process though nearly 1,000 medical seats were available while she appeared for counselling. But each seat came with a price tag of Rs 1.57 lakh to Rs 2.62 lakh.
Another parent Lingaiah, from Mysore, was anxiously waiting outside the CET Cell. He was desperate to know whether his son, Vasanth Kumar, who had secured the 717th rank had procured a government medical seat.
Mr Lingaiah, a daily wager, had pooled his hard-earned savings to mobilise the Rs 16,200 DD for a government seat. He was unaware that that the cutoff rank for a medical seat in the government college was — 174 (general merit category).
Of the 1,400 medical seats in the State, only a fraction are government seats for which the fee is Rs 16,200. The remaining seats in private college come at a price range that is beyond the reach of the common man.
Had Vasanth Kumar appeared for the CET last year, when 25 per cent in private colleges were allotted as free seats, he would have certainly secured a merit seat. “Who says merit has any value today? I secured the 900th rank but I am not in a position to pay for a medical seat, while my friend who has secured some 4,000-odd rank can buy a medical seat through money power,” said Mahesh, a student from Bellary.
“It’s so sad. Many students had to go back empty handed. More than 300 students who were very much interested in pursuing medicine had to go back disheartened for want of funds,” said a CET official requesting anonymity.
# Posted : Friday, July 16, 2004
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Courtesy :
Star of Mysore & others..
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