Sunday 23 July 2017

StudyAbroad: Indian domicile rules leave MBBS, BDS aspirants with limited college choice.


NEET 2017: Domicile rules leave MBBS, BDS aspirants confused, give them limited college choice
Lack of a uniform domicile policy could put an end to dreams of NEET-qualified candidates to pursue fulfilling careers in medicine or dentistry.

While some states like Maharashtra, and Punjab have barred candidates from other states from participating in counselling for admission to medical colleges (both private and government), Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have no such restrictions.

Hundreds of candidates successful in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for admissions to medical and dental programmes and colleges across the country, have been spending time, money and energy desperately seeking admission to colleges in various states of the country. Lack of a uniform domicile policy could put an end to their dreams to pursue fulfilling careers in medicine or dentistry.

While some states like Maharashtra and Punjab have barred candidates from other states from participating in counselling for admission to medical colleges (both private and government), Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka have no such restrictions.

The domicile policy puts students from states with few medical colleges at a disadvantage.

NEET rules say that candidates wishing to apply for admission in state medical colleges or universities or institutes using merit list of NEET-2017 have to follow the instructions of the state government or that of the authorities of the medical and dental colleges or university/institutes concerned for counselling.

States can reserve 85% seats for their students in government medical colleges and leave the 15% quota for students from across the country ranking high on the NEET merit list. There is no provision for any reservation in private medical colleges across the country in NEET rules.

“I couldn’t fill the online form to join counselling in Maharashtra as candidates are required to be state domiciles,” complains a student from Delhi.

MBBS aspirants from Delhi have also been left with limited options as the sprawling Capital has only nine government medical colleges out of which only eight admit students through NEET. The All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, has a separate entrance examination.

Students from many north-eastern states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Lakshadweep etc, which don’t have any medical colleges, say that if all states mandate domicile status, they will never be able to pursue MBBS education despite qualifying NEET.

“It’s fortunate that some states are not following domicile restrictions. If this happens then we will be left with only one option - 15% seat reserved under all-India quota in government colleges across the country. This, however, will benefit only the high-rank holders,” says a student who ranks below 20,000 in NEET 2017.

A Supreme Court order of June 7, 2012, states that the Directorate General of Health Services, ministry of health and family welfare, has to conduct online counselling for 15% seats under all-India quota for undergraduate MBBS and BDS programme.

Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir have opted out of NEET.

In favour of domicile restrictions Dr Raj Bahadur, vice chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Science, which conducts counselling for MBBS admission in Punjab, says “Every state has the right to protect the interests of its students.” Candidates clearing Class 12 from Punjab can apply for MBBS and BDS programmes in the state.

Many experts disagree.

“A state can impose domicile restriction for admission in government-run colleges but I don’t think the same applies for the private colleges,” says Gulshan Garg, chairman, Sankalp Charitable Trust. It was Sankalp’s petition last year which led to the Supreme Court ordering the implementation of NEET as a single examination for admission to MBBS and BDS programmes in the country.

“What’s the point of a one-nation-one-examination when each state frames its own admission guidelines?” he asks.

Students also complain that the criteria to define domicile varies from one state to another. Some states want Class 12 certificates while others ask from other documents such as birth certificate etc.

The order of the Tamil Nadu government reserving 85% of its MBBS and BDS seats for state board students was quashed recently by the Madras High Court. (According to hindustantimes.com - education)





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Wednesday 19 July 2017

StudyAbroad: Indian Engineering college’s move to hike fees by 250%


StudyAbroad: Students have opposed Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute’s (VJTI) decision to increase the fees for post-graduation courses by 150% to 250%.

The autonomous engineering institute’s board of governors recommended the fee hike, which has been approved. “All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) stopped funding our PG courses from 2008. All these years, we were hoping to receive some aid from the state or Centre, but to no avail. So we decided to increase the fees to keep these courses running,” said Dhiren Patel, director of the Institute.

VJTI is a University of Mumbai- affiliated college which was granted autonomy in 2004. It gets financial aid from the state for UG courses. Members of Nationalist Student Congress (NCS), the student wing of NCP, said the annual fees for MTech (aided section) may be increased from Rs. 23,665 to Rs. 83,734 — a hike of 253%. Those who have a sponsor may have to pay Rs. 93,734 from the current annual fees of Rs38,565. Similarly, the fees for pursuing PhD may rise from Rs. 26,092 to Rs. 83,954 for non-sponsored students and from Rs. 41,092 to Rs. 1,08,954 for sponsored students.

“Students are being victimized for a few crores. It seems that the government doesn’t want them to pursue higher education,” said Amol Matele, President, NSC.


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The German federal foreign office grants students an 18-month extension of visa after studies for the purpose of seeking a job. Considering that most of the students would like to shift to the industry after studies, this extension gives us ample time to explore opportunities.


In terms of employment opportunities, especially in the field of IT and engineering, Indian students certainly have an edge over others with a majority of them holding engineering degrees. “This combined with Germany’s constant demand for engineers is a win-win for both Germany and Indian students.  


Thursday 13 July 2017

Study Abroad: MBBS: About 50,000 students had applied for 3,080 seats this year.


Court has stayed release of list; officials confident of the State government winning case against NEET

The delay in the release of merit list for MBBS/BDS by the State government has only led to more confusion. Students who have cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test remain uncertain about their prospects in the State.

The uncertainty is higher for students from other boards who have scored well in NEET and are hoping for a seat in the State government-run colleges through the All India Quota.

The last date to lock preferences under the All India Quota for seats under the 15% reservation ended on July 11. Counseling for these seats is expected to start from July 13.

It is in this situation that the court has stayed the declaration of merit list, which was expected on July 14.

The parents of a student, who had cleared NEET with over 300 marks, are still hoping that the State government would stick to its schedule and release the merit list.

Several options open

K. Bhagavathi, a CBSE student who has cleared NEET, said he had hoped to get into a government college. “I did not think the State Board students would get good scores in NEET.

“But there are many who have scored over 600 so I don’t stand a chance. Two of my friends who have scored better than me and have qualified under the unreserved category have other plans. One of them has applied for deemed university and another has taken a year off to prepare for NEET,” he said.

Several organizations continuing their protest against NEET has not helped matters.

A senior official of the State government, however, said the government would win the case against the imposition of NEET this year as Tamil Nadu had not followed in the footsteps of Gujarat, which had adopted the Central government recommended syllabus three months prior to NEET.

Counselling put off

The second phase of counseling for admission to undergraduate courses offered by the constituent and affiliated colleges of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has been postponed till the medical and engineering admissions are completed.

S. Mahimairaja, Dean, Agriculture, and Chairman - Admissions, said that after the first phase counseling, which ended on June 24, there were just three vacancies in the constituent colleges and 210 vacancies in the affiliated colleges. However, there were a lot of dropouts in the last two or three weeks.

“In order to avoid further dropouts, we are waiting for the medical counseling to get over,” he said.

As studying medicine in India gets tougher due to limited seats and high capitation fee, a number of medical aspirants check out the options abroad to become qualified doctors. Although taking the overseas route in the healthcare industry has been in prevalence for quite some time, over the past few years there has been an average increase of about 10-15 percent increase in the number of students going abroad for studying medicine.
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Thursday 6 July 2017

Study Abroad MBBS: Now, pay Rs 9-25 lakh for MBBS seat


StudyAbroad: As per the fee structure on the website, Kochi-based Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences has declared a fee of Rs 15 lakh per seat.


Even as the Supreme Court has brought the MBBS admissions of deemed universities in the country under the ambit of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), they continue to be beyond the reach of financially weak, but meritorious students.

The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the directorate-general of health services, Union ministry of health and family welfare, opened its website on Wednesday for students to register themselves for participating in its counseling for MBBS course under deemed universities. It also published the fees in these 38 universities in the country. They can register their choices on the website from Friday.  


Interestingly, the shoddy way in which the website has put out the details is revealed from the NRI fee given against the name of three medical colleges. It is the same as the regular fee while it is shown against the $ sign, which makes it a phenomenal sum. The three colleges are the SDU Medical College, Kolar, Smt B.K.Shah Medical Institute& Research Centre, Vadodara, and Sri Sidhartha Medical College, Tumkur.

“There is no rationale for allowing such a wide range of fee structure between Rs 9 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. The UGC, the MCI and the Central government have the responsibility to enforce a reasonable fee structure for the sector to enable meritorious students to study in such institutions,” said Dr S. Rajookrishnan, former joint commissioner of entrance examinations. 

“Everyone was under the impression that the fee in deemed universities will come down once NEET ranklist is made applicable to them. The government could have regulated their fees to a reasonable level on the strength of the Supreme Court order which made NEET applicable to the deemed universities also. However, sadly that has not happened. The SC order making NEET ranklist applicable to deemed universities has effectively wiped out several unhealthy practices that have so far happened in their admissions and this is the right time for the government to intervene to enforce a reasonable fee structure also,” said Mr Rajendran Puthiyedath, an education expert based in Kochi.

As per the fee structure on the website, Kochi-based Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences has declared a fee of Rs 15 lakh per seat. The highest fee out of the lot is charged by Dr D.Y. Patil Medical College, Navi Mumbai, at Rs 25 lakh while Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, which is one of the oldest in the country, has a fee of Rs 10.30 lakh. The SDU Medical College, Kolar, Karnataka, has the lowest fee of the lot at Rs 9,00,000.


As studying medicine in India gets tougher due to limited seats and high capitation fee, a number of medical aspirants check out the options abroad to become qualified doctors. Although taking the overseas route in the healthcare industry has been in prevalence for quite some time, over the past few years there has been an average increase of about 10-15 percent increase in the number of students going abroad for studying medicine.
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Tuesday 4 July 2017

StudyAbroad: Preliminary figures show Canada is set to see double digit growth in international student enrolments


The country’s low currency, welcoming immigration policies and streamlined visa processing for key markets are finally starting to pay off, according to educators. So much so that many in metropolitan areas are now running into capacity constraints.

“Even if Clinton had won the election, we would still be seeing the same number of students in Canada this year that we are seeing now,” said Mike Walkey, managing director of ELS Canada.


“Even if Clinton had won the election, we would still be seeing the same number of students in Canada this year that we are seeing now”

Canada’s done a lot of really good, really smart things recently, particularly with immigration and pathways and work rights, that have helped raise its profile overall,” he said. “Canada has always had a reputation for being welcoming and safe, but I think that’s echoing with people more than ever now.”

The country is on track to reach its 2022 goal of doubling international students to 450,000 “as early as this year”, according to an IRCC representative at the recent BCCIE summer conference in Kelowna.

China continues to be the country’s largest source country but India and Vietnam saw the biggest gains in 2016: a whopping 57% and 55%, respectively.

“Vietnam is an example of good synchronization with the sector and government policy,” said Walkey, referring to the Canada Express Study Program rolled out in Vietnam last year. “Numbers have gone way up, I’ve heard it’s going to become the third biggest nationality, especially for colleges.”

With short courses (two years) and direct routes to employment after graduation, colleges have also absorbed the growth in Indian students. “Our number one source country right now is India, and they’re choosing Canada 

Director of international education & development, Beatty said that more than pulling students from the US, the college is attracting students from the UK. “Over the last three or four years we’ve had students that are originally from Nigeria, from Vietnam, even from India, who have gone to the UK, they’ve done a degree or a diploma in the UK, but because there’s no postgraduate work option or long-term immigration option they come to Canada,” he said. Higher education institutions expect to see major growth this year as well. 


The ability to get a work permit after graduation as well as possibly permanent residency is also very appealing. Because there’s no postgraduate work option or long-term immigration option in the UK, they come to Canada