Reconsider option for admission test

The Health and Family Welfare ministry in a decision taken on August 13 declared that no admission tests will be held for public and private medical colleges. Instead, this year's admission will be based on the basis of CGPA results. Such a radical decision has given rise to much contention among the tens of thousands of aspirants hoping to enroll in the medical colleges.
The sheer number of candidates having attained large numbers of CGPA 5 has brought to fore the credibility of the grading system which is yet to be fully established. With large numbers having gotten CGPA 5, precisely how the authorities will sift through deserving candidates is a very valid question, especially in light of the fact that medical college seats are very limited. The combined results of SSC and HSC examinations cannot be the only parameter for admission given the wide discrepancy in standards of education across the seven boards. Moreover, CGPA is a method of classification and not marking, so, by overlooking the marking system altogether there is no way to select the best performing students under the new system.
It is estimated that as many as 30,000 students attained GPA 5.0 HSC this year and based on last year's data, some 70,000 candidates may take part in the admission examinations to be held in the 22 government medical colleges for 2,811 seats and 53 private medical colleges that can accommodate a further 4,245 candidates. Furthermore, there are another 1,437 seats available in the 23 public and private medical and dental colleges. This translates into approximately 1 in 8 candidates getting admission and opens up the possibility of both corruption and manipulation on a grand scale.
We therefore strongly urge the ministry to reconsider its decision not to base enrolment on the basis of CGPA gradation alone. A fair system would be to base admission on a mix of both the criteria of CGPA gradation as well as marks obtained in admission test.