Scam shatters NTR varsity’s credibility

Hyderabad: The PGMET scam, which was cracked by the CID special investigation team in less than 72 hours, has not only rocked the entire nation but questioned the credibility of NTR University of Health Sciences in a big way. The modus operandi of the brokers, tainted students and the managements amply proved the vulnerability of the varsity and called for urgent reforms in entrance examination. Some students even suggested that instead of being handled by noxious varsity officials, it is better to hand over it to a national level entrance exam- conducting institution like AIIMS or JIPMER.

The decision to re-conduct the exam has brought in mixed feelings. While those who secured good ranks and expecting seats in demanding branches were totally disappointed, those who fared badly in the cancelled test have been happy that they got an unexpected chance to get a seat this time.

But students have been demanding three-four weeks time to prepare for the re-examination. “We lost our flow. We have to revise the whole syllabus of four years and this cannot be done in a few days. There is no hurry to complete the process and as a special case, we can request the Medical Council of India for extension of deadline beyond July 7. Even last year, the admissions went on till August,” Abhilash, a leader of JUDA told The Hans India.

The aspirants and representatives of JUDA are planning to meet the Governor on Thursday in this regard.

On the scam, Abhilash said the real culprits are still at large. “Who were behind this whole affair? Some biggies in the varsity are definitely behind the leakage. They must be brought to book. Only then, the image of the university can be restored. This is what we are going to represent to the Governor,” he added.

Never before a scam of this magnitude was seen and the involvement of people from several regions joining hands to form as had a syndicate come to light. Medical fraternity was aghast at the range of the scam and in most of the corporate and private hospitals; it has been the subject of discussion. “It shook the foundations of medical higher education in the state. We will face an embarrassing situation if we go to any national-level seminar, festival or test. If people know about our year of study of MS, they will get a lenient view of our abilities,” Sai Krishna Tej, an aspirant felt.

“There is always a risk of leakage with paper-based exams. Hence it is better to make completely online. There must be a pool of 1000 questions and make out several sets with questions of equal difficulty level. Unless this is done, scams of this sort will continue to happen,” Dr Subbaiah, expert in stem cell therapy, Global Hospitals remarked.

Dr Appa Rao, an expert doctor at Niloufer Hospital opined that the university’s role shall be limited to admissions and not conducting the entrance exam. “How JIPMER could conduct an impeccable exam for years together? How AIIMS holds a flawless PG entrance test? It is better if we seek their help in conducting the exam or I suggest handing over the responsibility of holding the exam to them,” he opined.

According to insiders in the department of medical education, the scam has been going on for several years but has come to light only this year due to enlightened and vigilant aspirants. It was busted because no political establishment is there to influence the process. “It is possible simply because there is Governor’s rule and that too he has been actively pursuing,” an aspirant remarked.

“This is solely because there is very less number of seats in demanding branches like radiology, pediatrics, dermatology, orthopedics, neurology etc.

The aspirants are more than 3000 but the number of seats is just around 60 in each branch. The whopping cost of each seat in management quota – Rs 1.25- 2 crores- itself proves the demand. The only way is to increase the number of seats in all departments. Of course, there is faculty crunch but it can be addressed by roping in the experts from various institutions and top hospitals as visiting professors,” Dr Vamshi, a leader of JUDA said.