If you are aspiring for a medical or dental seat next year then make sure you prepare well for the entrance test. Marks scored in the entrance test is likely to be the sole criterion for assigning ranks and drawing the merit list for admission to medical and dental courses from next year, while performance in II PU will be only an eligibility parameter. As for engineering courses, the government is likely to continue with the earlier pattern of giving equal weightage to PU and CET marks. While private managements have been following this rule to fill up their quota of seats, the state government, following a recent High Court order on eligibility for MBBS course, is also likely to adopt the same pattern for admission to government quota medical and dental seats through the CET Cell. Furthermore, a candidate will be assigned a medical/dental rank only if he or she scores 50 per cent and above (40 per cent for SC/STs) in Physics, Chemistry and Biology combination in the CET; higher education department sources said.

Equal weightage

Hitherto, the CET Cell gave equal weightage to marks scored in the entrance test and also qualifying examination (core subjects) to determine merit. There were no minimum cut-off marks in the CET and students who fared poorly in the entrance test were assigned ranks. However, admissions made by the CET Cell for medical courses was drawn into a controversy this year with a section of colleges refusing to admit students who had secured below 50 per cent in the entrance test. The colleges termed that the admissions violated the guidelines stipulated by the Medical Council of India.

HC order as a relief

An order passed by the Karnataka High Court came as a relief for as many as 238 students admitted to the MBBS course, who otherwise would have lost their seats. However, the court also made it clear that it was only a one time measure. We do not want to take chances next year and will follow all the guidelines set by the MCI and also the Dental Council of India (DCI). These include considering only entrance test marks to determine merit and assigning ranks only to candidates who have scored more than 50 per cent in the CET. Any candidate who scores below 50 per cent in the CET will not be included in the rank list irrespective of the score in the qualifying examination, the sources said. As per the draft rules prepared by the government, a candidate will only need to score the minimum 50 per cent marks in physics, chemistry and biology taken together in the qualifying examination (II PU for state board students and CBSE/ISC for central board students) to fulfill the eligibility requirements for MBBS and BDS admissions. In other words, a candidates score in the qualifying examination will not count, even if it is as high as 90 per cent, when it comes to admissions to MBBS and BDS.

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