Leader of opposition, Eknath Khadse, kicked up a storm after he submitted a CD of a sting operation that exposed a racket of sale of seats in private institutions in Pune and Mumbai.
Leader of opposition, Eknath Khadse, kicked up a storm after he submitted a CD of a sting operation that exposed a racket of sale of seats in private institutions in Pune and Mumbai. He alleged that students on the merit list were being denied admissions because of this malpractice. Speak Up explores
Students are paying because number of seats is very few
The practice of selling seats to students is definitely prevalent in our system. I have come to know that for postgraduate (PG) programme in radiology, more than Rs1 crore is being demanded from students, who aspire to get into this field; and the worst part is that people are paying. Lakhs of rupees are being paid to secure admissions in premier institutes. Most of the PG seats are being sold in hospitals run by private trusts. These malpractices are bound to happen when flimsiness and paucity exist in the system. The only solution to this issue is to increase the number of seats. The reason students are paying to get admissions is because the number of seats is very few. I don’t think engineering colleges are charging for admissions because many seats go vacant every year.
—SB Mujumdar, Founder-President, Symbiosis
I have met students who were denied admissions despite being on the merit list
As a senior doctor and PG teacher at the University of Pune (UoP), I think there is truth in what Eknath Khadse is saying. As a student of BJ Medical College in Pune, I didn’t have to pay a single rupee for admission, as I was in the merit list. However, nowadays private colleges have started the process of collecting capitation fees for admission; and now they are collecting huge donations to admit students. Students who don’t deserve to get admission are being accommodated. It is so shameful for the country that the medical field is being degraded because these to-be-doctors will obviously recover the money they paid for admission by indulging in malpractices. I have met a lot of students who were
denied admissions despite being on the merit list. These students go abroad to study and settle there. If this situation prevails, the quality of doctors in India will surely deteriorate.
—Dr Kalyan Gangwal, Teacher, UoP
Many had to give up their career choices due to this malpractice
Due to this malpractice, those who are really qualified are being deprived of an opportunity. I have come across many such students, who say that they gave up a career in medicine or engineering because they didn’t get admission in a premier institution. These youths had to give up their career choices due to such malpractices in the admission process. Everyone knows that many colleges are involved this ‘racket’ of selling seats and it is happening at the ground level. In this process, many aspiring students who have a positive attitude towards life and career are losing hope.
—Satish Bansode, Programme Director, CYDA
Govt has promised action
I have presented the CD of the sting operation as a proof of the racket of medical seats being sold in private colleges run by politicians. As of now, the proof pertains only to Mumbai and Pune, but the situation might be similar in rest of Maharashtra too. The state government has said that they would appoint a probe committee.
—Eknath Khadse, Leader of Opposition
DY Patil college is not involved in the racket
I don’t agree with Eknath Khadse’s allegation that DY Patil Medical
College is among other premier
colleges involved in selling medical seats at a premium. It is a completely baseless allegation. There is no truth in it. I have not yet read the news in detail, therefore, I cannot comment on the allegation.
—PN Razdan, VC, DY Patil Vidyapeeth
Private institutes are run by trusts owned by politicians, and seats are sold to fund elections
The issue raised by the leader of the opposition is nothing new. A similar sting operation was conducted a couple of years ago on the premises of a private medical college, but no action was taken. It seems to be the government’s ploy to make state-run institutes to reduce their supply to the extent that it benefits the private lobby. The private institutes are run by trusts owned by politicians and seats are sold to provide money to fund elections.
Things will improve dramatically for the suffering students if...
1 The government provides adequate and quality alternatives to higher education in professional courses in every state to cater to a nation with a growing youth population.
2 Opens top-notch teachers’ training institutes for undergraduate and postgraduate courses on the lines of IITs and IIMs.
3 Passes a resolution to ensure that every seat in private colleges is awarded through a national common entrance examination.
4 Brings total transparency in entrance exams to professional courses.
5 Announces a systematic reduction in reservation quota for backward classes over the next
15 years.
—Girish Deshpande, Spokesperson, Professionals Party of India (PPI)
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