KOCHI: Aspirants for MBBS seats in private medical colleges and their parents are in a Catch 22 situation created mainly by the state government and the commissioner of entrance examinations (CEE) over bank guarantee that may fall any time on them if they want to take admission this year.
The first knot they created is the stipulation of 5 pm on Monday as the deadline for online option confirmation and rearrangement/deletion/addition of options in the second allotment.
The CEE in a press release on Friday said that as per the order of the Supreme Court, in a writ petition filed by Kerala Private Medical College Managements Association, students allotted to MBBS course in private self-financing medical colleges for the academic year 2019-20 may be required to furnish bank guarantee for the remaining fees for the course.
Interestingly, the notification for the second allotment issued on Friday states the order in this regard was issued by the SC on July 12 while the state health and family welfare department chose the last moment to convey the same to the CEE on July 25 which was passed on to the aspirants and parents on Friday.
With no time left, a vast majority of aspirants and parents are confused about how to go about confirming options by 5 pm on Monday. The majority who will have to look in all directions for an attempt to raise the bank guarantee will be risking their presently registered confirmed seats if they opt for an SF MBBS seat.
"My son has now a confirmed seat in BAMS in a government Ayurveda college but has bright chances of getting into a private MBBS seat. But I am not sure how to raise this bank guarantee. I don't have the cash, and I am not sure my limited property would fetch up to Rs 30 lakh which would have to be deposited as bank guarantee. If I confirm option in a private MBBS seat by 5 pm tomorrow and not take it bank guarantee is imposed by the Supreme Court, then I will lose the Ayurveda seat as well. So it is a Catch 22 situation. The government and the CEE should not have landed us in such a situation," said a parent in Kottayam.
The state government is accused of not filing an affidavit in the case in which the SC hinted that bank guarantee might have to be furnished by students taking admission in private MBBS seats this year. This is despite the direction of the court that the state government can file an affidavit in the case filed by private medical colleges.
"There has been no attempt to defend the interests of the students on the part of the state government," said a parent.
