MBBS admissions: Students of last year may get easy entry

CHENNAI: For many Class 12 students of 2015 batch, getting a MBBS seat is likely to be a distant dream. Their seniors of 2013 and 2014 batches may play spoilsport this year, as the two batches have scores of candidates who enjoy higher cut-off marks than those from the latest batch.
Fall in the number of centum-scorers in biology and other science papers this year will result in lower cutoff marks for MBBS admissions this year.
It, however, is not a good news for the 2015 batch of Class 12 students, as they are set to compete with the 2013 and 2014 batches who had settled for either BDS courses or other non-MBBS courses last year due to stiff competition and high cut-off in the earlier two years of MBBS counselling.
What brought about a huge disparity in the number of centum-scorers and marks among the three batches of students? Since there was no change in syllabus, has it got anything to do with quality of question papers set, or evaluation method?
In biology, there were 652 centums in 2014 and 682 in 2013 — this year there were just 387. “The decision to not award grace marks will surely impact the number of centums. And, lesser centum means lower cut-offs, thus easing the competition,” said educational consultant J P Gandhi in an earlier interaction with TOI.

In the three science subjects — physics, chemistry and biology — there were a total of 5,055 centums. This year, there are only 1,560 centum-scorers. The biggest disparity is in physics. Last year, there were 2,710 centums but it is only 124 this year.
Different teachers have different reasons for the disparity. “This year, some of the one-mark and the three-mark questions were tough. Students had to apply their knowledge for the answer and several of them failed to do so,” said a physics teacher who did not want to be named.
Exact number of seats on offer and cut-off for this year will become clear in the next few days. “Most students who did not land a seat in a government medical college are pursuing engineering. And, they do not mind losing a year or two and apply for the medical counselling this year,” said Gandhi. He added, “This is going to play spoilsport for the students of this year. Students from 2013 and 2014 batch have a better cut-off and are likely to have a better chance of getting a seat in a government college.”
Last year, at least 46 high scoring plus two students could not get MBBS admission because they were under-aged. Tamil Nadu government told the Madras high court last year that the 46 students had not completed 17 years of age as on the cut-off date of December 31, 2013. These students are fully eligible for participating in MBBS counselling this year, and they pose clear danger to students of 2015 batch, said government advocates associated with the case.