It would look strange, but true. The state government is becoming a party to the process followed by the Inter-Church Council (ICC) for MBBS admissions.
This, even as the process is reported to be in violation of the rule set by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Supreme Court order in the famed Mridul Dar case.
MCI stipulates that either the mark of the Plus Two or the entrance score has to be taken for the MBBS.
For being eligible for admission, a student has to score 50 percent marks in physics, chemistry and biology together or 50 percent in the entrance, according to the MCI.
However, the ICC is taking the students to management quota from a merit list prepared on the basis of the marks secured in the entrance examination conducted by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations and marks obtained in the qualifying examination in the core subjects.
MCI sources said there is no provision in the MCI rules to consider both entrance score and the qualifying exam score for MBBS admission.
Interestingly, the admission to the 50 percent MBBS government merit quota in the four Christian MCs is done only on the basis of entrance score alone by the CEE himself.
However, ICC spokesperson George Paul said that Justice V Giri of the Kerala high court had termed the method followed by the ICC as the most-scientific method.
“There is no dilution in the method followed by the ICC medical colleges. In fact, there is only an upgradation in the standards. We don’t need a permission of the MCI to combine the marks of the entrance and plus two test marks,” George Paul said.