Chennai: Of 2,447 seats in 22 government medical colleges that were filled in the first phase of MBBS counselling this year, only three seats were filled by government school students.
Another four students from the government schools got government quota seats in private medical colleges there by taking the total number to seven seats against five last year.
“Totally 20 students - seven from government schools and 13 from government-aided schools have got MBBS seats this year,” said G.Selvarajan, secretary, Selection Committee.
The fee for government medical colleges is Rs 13,600 whereas the fee for government quota in private medical colleges is around Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh.
Despite the state government spending crores of rupees for Neet coaching last year, the common medical entrance test still proves to be a great barrier for government school students in getting into medical colleges.
Of 9,154 students from government, government-aided schools who took Neet exam this year, 1344 students have qualified in the medical entrance test. But only 10 students have scored above 300 marks and 42 students scored above 200 marks in the common medical entrance test.
So, it was predicted that only a handful of students would get the MBBS seats from government schools.
J. Charan, a student from K.C. Sankaralinga Nadar Higher Secondary School, a government-aided school in Old Washermenpet scored 416 marks in Neet and topped among the 20 students from government and government-aided schools with 972nd rank. He got a seat in Vellore Medical College.
“The meritorious students from government and government-aided schools are passionate about medical education, but could not spare time and resources for rigorous coaching that is required to score good marks in Neet exam. There is no equitable access to the coaching and this exam will not help the deserving students,” said P.B. Prince Gajendrababu, general secretary, State Platform for Common School System.
“Before Neet, around 30 to 35 students from government schools used to get MBBS seats. Students from government-aided schools and in rural areas also would get many seats” he added.
Sources in the school education department said that the government is considering revising Neet coaching enabling more students to get high marks.
