A powerful clash has been unfolding between the Lt Governor of Puducherry, Kiran Bedi and the managements of self-financing medical colleges over the question of admission of students under government quota and the fee structure that they are to be charged.
In the most explosive episode in the clash, a video published by Dinamalar shows Bedi lambasting officials during a surprise inspection on 31 May for failing to fill seats under the government quota.
Pointing to a document regarding the sharing of seats between the government quota and the management quota, she insists that the “50-50” division of seats be implemented correctly.
Bedi’s intervention came in the context of the refusal of many college managements to follow the fee structure prescribed by a Fee Committee appointed by the Supreme Court, and its insistence that 71 government quota seats left unfilled at the end of two rounds of counselling by the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC) be transferred over to the management quota.
However, Bedi insisted that all seats in the government quota allotted for local students be filled with students from within Puducherry, The Hindu reported. Where seats were still remaining, they should be transferred to the Government of India for reallocation to government quota and could not be transferred over to the management quota, she asserted.
However, the clash between Bedi and college managements also seems to be taking a political turn, with Chief Minister V Narayanaswamy giving the Legislative Assembly a different picture of the situation on 2 June. Refusing to count the 26 seats that had been allotted in the third round of counselling, Narayanaswamy told the Assembly that only 91 seats had been allotted (as against claims by Bedi that 117 seats had been allotted), reported The Times of India.
Following Bedi’s intervention, a third round of counselling was held, in which 26 more seats were allotted, with 45 seats being surrendered to the All India quota.
However, according to The Hindu, this did not resolve the chaos for students, as college managements stuck to their guns, refusing to admit students allotted seats in the third round of counselling. Some colleges also refused to admit students unless they paid the full fees demanded, which ran upwards of Rs 35 lakh.
Following this stand-off, showcause notices were issued on 1 June to the Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital and the Sri Venkateshwaraa Medical College and Hospital for failing to follow the prescribed fee structure and to admit students under CENTAC.
On Saturday, Bedi told media persons that she fully intends to follow through on her warnings of strict action against errant college managements.
Bedi also replied to journalists on a WhatsApp group and said the chief minister, “wants a Lieutenant Governor who is just an onlooker and passes time and enjoys benefits of expensive establishment called Raj Nivas without meeting people or questioning officers and would do what he tells even in writing”, reported NDTV.
The chief minister commented on the matter and said:
(With inputs from NDTV.)
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