Medical PG seat sold for Rs2 crore
The price of post-graduate (PG) medical seats has skyrocketed like never before, thanks to the uncertainty about the admissions procedure this year.
The seats in management quota are being sold for a whopping sum of between Rs 1 crore and Rs 2 crore even before the results of the first-ever national common entrance test (Neet-PG) or the state government conducted PG medical entrance test (PGMet) are announced.
With utter confusion prevailing over the applicability of Neet-PG or PGMet this year, the managements of medical colleges and educational consultants /brokers have joined hands to exploit the situation to their maximum advantage.
Students in the state have opted for both Neet and PGMet. With the Neet case pending in the Supreme Court, the results that were scheduled to be announced in January this year were withheld.
The state government, which opposes Neet, has conducted its own PGMet in March. But a Supreme Court directive prohibits it from announcing the results till the court delivers its final verdict on Neet.
While there are only 1,200 PG medical seats available in the state, around 30,000 students are competing for these seats.
The new phenomenon in the admissions racket this year is the involvement of ‘meritorious students’ to block the seats first and then 'vacate' those seats later by charging Rs 25 lakh. This deal is being handled by educational consultants/ brokers.
The brokers apply for management quota seats in all the private colleges on behalf of meritorious students who score over 80-90 per cent marks, which guarantees them a seat. They offer the student up to Rs 25 lakh to vacate the seat and later strike a deal with another student and sell him/her the vacated seat for Rs 1-2 crore depending on the demand.
This unethical practice has proved beneficial for college managements, brokers and the meritorious students
Academicians blame the state government for the ‘unholy nexus’ between the managements, brokers and students.
They say that if the state conducts centralised admissions for management quota seats online, this can be checked.