Med. aspirants upset over KEAM schedule

From Our Entrance Exam Expert

August 3, 2012: The decisions to have the third allotment under KEAM on 5th August 2012 after closing the facility for option rearrangement by 3rd August and to effect the requests for cancellation of allotments only after the third allotment, have come as a shock to many aspirants, particularly, of MBBS under KEAM.

Those aggrieved are mainly those having an allotment at present in the Government Controlled/Private Self financing Colleges and expecting a seat in the Government Medical Colleges in the next round and those without any allotment and expecting a seat in Government Medical Colleges based on their KEAM rank.

The assurance given by govt at High Court of Kerala was that the next allotment under MBBS under KEAM would be made only after the All India Quota (AIQ) allotments for MBBS/BDS.

The third allotment to MBBS/BDS under AIQ is to be announced on September, 5 2012. No one seems to have expected the CEE or the Government to wait till that point to make the third allotment. But the expectation was that the third allotment would be announced only after the time for reporting based on the first allotment under All India Quota expired. This would have ensured the allotment of students in KEAM Rank list to the vacancies in KEAM, consequent to the AIQ allotments, in the third round itself. 

As per the AIQ schedule, candidates allotted seats as per the first allotment under AIQ scheduled to be announced on 3rd August, 2012 are to join the allotted institutions, latest by 5 pm on 13th August. There might be many students in KEAM allotments, who would get seats in AIQ based on their Ranks. If such students join the AIQ allotments, they would naturally vacate their KEAM allotment. If the third allotment under KEAM was made after this date (13.8.2012), after giving a chance to candidates to cancel the KEAM allotments, the vacancies that arise on account of the KEAM allotted candidates joining the All India Quota allotment seat obtained subsequently could also have been considered for the third allotment.

The decision to postpone the cancellation of allotments received based on the notification of 27th July, 2012 is another setback for the prospective candidates at least for the time being. Those having allotments under KEAM had the facility to cancel their allotments by 31st July. If such cancellation request is considered before the third allotment, some medical spirants expecting allotment in Government Medical colleges would have been benefited out of it. But this also has been deferred. This would only mean that those who are not likely to join the colleges are also in the allotment process even when the third stage has been reached since the genuine candidates can be identified only when the admissions are complete.

The steps taken by the authorities to commence the allotment process early this year compared to those of previous years is certainly a matter to be appreciated. However, the Medical Council stipulation that the classes should commence on 1st August 2012, could not be complied with for one reason or the other both at the Centre and the State. So the Government could have waited for a few days for the next allotment under KEAM to ensure that the students are benefited. But his has not bee ensured this time according to students and parents.

The amount to be remitted to the account of CEE by candidates who get allotment in Medical Colleges having a fee structure of 3.75 lakhs is only Rs.1000/-. The actual fee is to be paid when the students take admission in the colleges. So if the allotments were made after 13th August and accepting the cancellations from those who join AIQ, at least some students who are now in the 3.75 lakh seat, could have escaped from this payment.

Moreover, since the admission stage has not been reached, there is a possibility of some candidates making a try at it without the genuine intention of joining the colleges. This would result in delay in allotments to genuine candidates.

The next question is related to the fourth allotment. In the Government Orders related to the agreement on seat and fee structure, it has been specified that the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations would make a maximum of four allotments to Private Self Financing Medical Colleges and final allotment would be completed by 20th September, 2012. There is no provision for any re-allotment from these colleges after the fourth allotment. If the fourth allotment of KEAM is made before the third and final allotment to AIQ seats scheduled for 5th September, 2012, students admitted in Private Self financing Colleges may land up in trouble if they get an allotment under AIQ subsequently.

So if the state is to ensure maximum usage of the Government quota seats, the fourth allotment should be done only after the joining date of the third AIQ allotment (5 pm on 14th September) and then giving an opportunity for candidates to cancel their KEAM admissions. The Government order permits the managements to fill any vacancy that arises after the completion of the fourth allotment.

Government and the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations may have their own reasons for the decisions taken now. This must be explained to the students and parents. Without that the apprehensions of the student community will continue and stands justified.