Thread by @LawBeatInd

#SupremeCourt to hear plea seeking directions to conduct special stray round in #NEETPG counselling for vacant seats.

Bench to ASG Balbir Singh: Don’t treat it and consider as an adversarial litigation. Don’t stand on technicalities. Its a question of 1456 medical seats. Government wants doctors of all kinds. They can serve the nation. These are not small number of seats.

Bench: We have read from the news paper that the counselling cannot be done as the site is closed. We are concerned about the nation. When we get 1400 PG doctors, it will be in larger interest also.

ASG: It is certainly not an adversarial litigation.

Bench: You maybe right when you say whenever the seats have fallen vacant there cannot be a counselling. But these are huge number of seats.

ASG: This court has interfered almost 4 times in this very session. This is a structural issue. Every year 600 or 700 seats go vacant every year.

Bench: Tell us what can be done for the students. Rather than becoming too technical, you try to find out a solution

ASG: The #SupremeCourt is interfering one round after the other. Nobody wants to go in a non-clinical area. Almost 1000 seats are such that nobody applies. These are teaching seats. Nobody deposits and takes admission. Its not that seats are not given to them.

ASG: 1100 seats happened so in the last right.

Bench: How many seats from 1400 how many are non-clinical?

ASG: Almost 1200

MCC representative is in the #SupremeCourt making submissions.

MCC: These are the seats for which there are no takers, the students don’t take this as employability is low. This has been the trend for last 2-3 years as well.

MCC: We have offered these seats 4 times, we reduced the percentile. The eligible candidates have increased. Already schedule is out. Already one year is over, the course is 3 years long

Bench: When was the last admission?

MCC: 7th May.

Bench: Not much difference

MCC: The #NEETPG2022 counselling will be delayed if the 2021 is not concluded. The software will have to be restarted. We are ready to do it if there are takers, if the outcome is the same there will be no point

ASG: Out of these 1400 odd seats, 800 or 900 were opted for then they did not take it up. So it became vacant. There was a plea to reduce the percentile, the entire situation was considered.

ASG: If the exercise is conducted MCC apprehends that not more than 100 seats will be taken.

ASG: The only apprehension they have is this is an annual phenomena and a structural issue.

ASG: The counselling is carried out by an outsourced agency. They have to start the entire process, collect the security. This will compromise the counselling of 2022.

ASG: Total number of vacant seats 1100 in private institutions, around 300 in government colleges. Most of the seats are pre paramedic in the government seats. They are academic. They can’t make a career as a doctor.

MCC: The private colleges have their own stray vacancy. The clinical courses, they will market and get it filled up.

Bench: You have rightly used the word market.

ASG: Medical education has become a business. Even law colleges are now a business.

Counsel: Students get 9 opportunities to take a set in PG courses even after that there is a vacant situation. The issue was considered in 2019 also

Counsel for petitioner: The counselling was abruptly stopped and we filed an RTI asking how many seats were vacant. The reply says due to non-joining etc seats were vacant.

Counsel: In this, a large number of seats pertained to surgery, anaesthesiology and gynaecology. Large number of seats are available in these streams

Bench: So somebody was allotted and they could not take it up. There must be a limit to the exercise. Merely because some seats are vacant, earlier also seats have been vacant. After 1.5 years you will be given admissions compromising health of people.

Counsel: Counselling started only in January.

Bench: This does not mean that this can go on forever.

Counsel: These are important seats.

Counsel: They can conduct the counselling in one day’s time.

Bench: Suppose if seats are vacant after that, then they will conduct more? We were with you seats cannot go waste but it has not that the first time they have remained vacant.

Counsel: This was pre #COVID19

Counsel: So many doctors have also died of #COVID19

Bench: We need well trained doctors. There cannot be any compromise with the education. How can they complete 3 year course in 1.5 years?

Bench: if you are hungry for 6 months, can you eat for 6 months in a day?

Counsel: Its a matter of only one month. Counselling was concluded on 7th May

Bench: If we permit this, it will be perpetual. Counselling cannot go on.

ADN Rao, Sr. Adv: Seats are left vacant because they have no scope to improve themselves. Today seats are available. I have gotten seat, but it is not recognised, allow me to take a recognised seat.

Court: We will pass a detailed order.

Justice MR Shah: We will pass order tomorrow.

“We Cannot Compromise On Education Just Because Seats Are Vacant”: Supreme Court Reserves Order In Plea Seeking Stray Counselling Round For NEET PG
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