The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : CET guidelines soon for medical colleges

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jun 09, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

CET guidelines soon for medical colleges

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JUNE 8. The Permanent Committee headed by the retired judge, S.S. Subramani, will soon announce by June 16 guidelines for the conduct of a separate common entrance test (CET) for admissions to management quota seats in unaided, private medical and para-medical colleges.

The committee, which includes two retired medical education professionals, A. Gajraj and Sushila Raj; and the Madras University Vice-Chancellor, S.P. Thyagarajan, besides the Health Secretary, Sheela Rani Chunkath (member-secretary), heard representations from three associations representing medical and para-medical colleges here today.

Later, Mr. Subramani told newspersons that the panel was yet to decide which association should be given permission to conduct the CET. One of the representations came from a group of 115 colleges (out of 149 unaided, medical, dental and para-medical colleges in the State) and "we are seriously considering allowing the consortium (to conduct the CET) under certain conditions. As directed by the Supreme Court, the CET would have to be conducted in a fair and transparent manner and for this purpose we will impose the conditions... Each step of the process will be controlled by the committee." Even after the examinations were over, there would be conditions for admissions.

He said the associations had raised questions whether there should be common counselling for medical and para-medical seats. The committee felt that common counselling would benefit students; also seats would not "get lapsed". There was also need to protect and encourage education in Indian medicine systems. The Tamil Nadu Association of Dental Colleges and another association representing homoeopathy, Siddha and other Indian medicine education colleges sought permission for conducting a separate CET. The Tamil Nadu Consortium for Health Sciences sought ways of ensuring that seats did not fall vacant in para-medical courses. "We also sought 20 per cent seats in the management quota allotted for foreign and NRI students," its general secretary, Isari K. Ganesh, told newspersons.

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