PGET for medical, dental courses from Jan 2010

Now, more entrance exams for students

The post graduate entrance tests for medical and dental courses conducted by various institutions for the next academic year are scheduled to begin from January 2010.
 With medical institutions obtaining deemed university status, students will have to be prepared to write a slew of entrance tests, one for each college. For students, writing entrance tests for individual institutions entails the expenditure of money and precious time. With several medical colleges in Karnataka obtaining deemed university status, students are hard-pressed for time.

Abhishek R, an MBBS graduate presently employed with a private clinic says, “The next six months consist of preparation for entrance tests and planning for the same. Beginning with January, candidates have to plan meticulously for writing multiple PGET, as most institutes conduct individual admission tests and process. Travelling to different districts and highly priced application fees are the main problems for students.”

Break for preparation
Sanjana Rao, who completed her MBBS in 2009 from a city medical college, says that she had to take a year’s break to prepare for PGET to secure admissions to one of the top medical institutions. She admitted, “It is alright to take up multiple entrance tests as a candidate has more scope for improvisation. But the hitch is the time, money and the travelling that the entrance tests take. An average student would want to appear for most of the entrance tests as the chances of getting a PG seat are high. But again, they will to spend a lot of resources to do so.”

Dr S Kumar, Executive Director, Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental colleges-Karnataka (COMED-K) believes that students are focused and are willing to appear for entrance tests conducted by various colleges. Dr Kumar observed, “The Supreme Court has said colleges of similar types may conduct a common entrance test in order to benefit students. Many private colleges opted for the COMED-K entrance tests”.
He also suggested that in a similar manner, deemed universities need to come together to conduct a common test for admissions, making it feasible for the students. He said that while deemed universities were restricted to a few in a State about five years ago, the scenario has now changed with many medical institutions obtaining the status.