Mumbai: As the state’s Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell on Tuesday announced the names of eight new government medical colleges in Maharashtra—which were approved by the National Medical Council (NMC) last week—some aspirants who had already filed the status retention form raised concerns that they may get stuck with the previously allotted seats in private medical colleges.
With two rounds of NEET UG admission process already completed and the third round under process, students who were allotted the seats in the first two rounds expressed fear that they may be forced to stick to their previously allotted seats as they have already filed the status retention form before the NMC’s announcement came last week.With two rounds of NEET UG admission process already completed and the third round under process, students who were allotted the seats in the first two rounds expressed fear that they may be forced to stick to their previously allotted seats as they have already filed the status retention form before the NMC’s announcement came last week.With two rounds of NEET UG admission process already completed and the third round under process, students who were allotted the seats in the first two rounds expressed fear that they may be forced to stick to their previously allotted seats as they have already filed the status retention form before the NMC’s announcement came last week. According to rules, any student who files a status retention form becomes ineligible for upcoming rounds.
However, the students said that they would have reconsidered their decision to file the form had the announcement come early. “Now I may have to stick with my seat at a private medical college even though a large number of new seats have come up in the government colleges which are considerably less expensive,” an aspirant told the Free Press Journal.
Last week government medical colleges in Gadchiroli, Ambernath, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldhana, Hingoli, Jalna, and Washim districts were approved by the NMC with a total capacity of 800. Of the 800 seats, 15% (120) of them are reserved for students from across the country as part of AIQ reservation, while the remaining 85% (680) are reserved for the students from the state. According to the CET Cell announcement on Tuesday, these colleges will be included in round three of admissions and aspiring candidates can give preference for these colleges in the ongoing round.
While the addition of 680 seats for Maharashtra students brought hope for some, others were concerned that the addition of seats will benefit only those students who haven't filed the status retention form.
“Meritorious students who filed status retention forms may get stuck with previously allotted seats, potentially losing chances at better and less expensive government colleges,” said Brijesh Sutaria, a medical activist. “To address their concerns, the CET Cell must provide clarity on how the filing of status retention forms will affect students who have already secured seats. Aspirants and parents should urge the CET Cell Maharashtra to issue clear guidelines to avoid confusion,” he added.
With the addition of these eight colleges, currently there are a total of 35 government medical colleges in Maharashtra. However, before the announcement of new additions last week, NEET UG aspirants had a choice of choosing between only 27 government colleges apart from the private medical colleges in the state.