A massive admission scam involving politicians, Government officials and parents of some of the students seeking admission to professional colleges has come to light in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Nonagenarian freedom fighter Arogyasami Arulraj, who quit public life long back, has come out of retirement to fight for the rights of the students belonging to the Union Territory.
Six Government officials have been suspended for issuing fake domicile certificates to students from outside the Union Territory. These include two deputy tehsildars, two revenue inspectors and two village administrative officers. Five students who managed to get admission in the first year MBBS course using these fake domicile certificates have been shown the door by the college authorities.
According to Manickam Ilango, a former MlA and a rights activist, admission to the eight medical colleges (which includes a Government medical college) and 17 engineering colleges in Puducherry is enmeshed in corruption. “The admissions to the medical and engineering colleges are made by the Central Admission Committee (CENTAC) since 1999. This was made mandatory because the Government medical college has 106 seats reserved exclusively for students from Puducherry. Out of the 1,200 seats in the eight private medical colleges, 265 seats are also exclusively reserved for students from Puducherry. But a coterie of Government officials, political brokers and some of the parents have subverted this system,” charged Arulraj and Ilango.
In the academic year 2014-15 five medical seats meant exclusively for Puducherry students have been sold to outsiders, said Arulraj. “Though there were eligible students from Puducherry, the Government officials like deputy tehsildar, revenue inspectors and village administrative officers with the connivance of political power brokers got domicile certificates issued to students from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh,” said Arulraj, the lone surviving freedom fighter who saw the French flag coming down and Indian tri-colour going up in 1954.
Ilango said that a seat in a private medical college in Puducherry is worth Rs 50 lakh. If admission could be managed claiming to be a citizen of Puducherry, the parents can save a lot on admission fee and other expenses. For students from Puducherry, the Government has started issuing Kamaraj Higher Education Scholarship worth Rs 2.5 lakh per year. For those managing admission under the domicile provision bribing the officials, it is a win-win situation.” said Ilango.
Rakesh Chandra, Secretary, Department of Education, Puducherry Governmet, ,told The Pioneer that six Government officials have been suspended for issuing fake domicile certificates. “Departmental probe is on and we will take legal action against them if they are found guilty. The students have been dismissed from the college,” said Chandra. He said the CENTAC has no role in the fake certificates as it was concerned only with the enforcement of the admission procedure. But Ilango said there is massive fraud in the admission procedure. “We want the Government to order a probe into the admission process for the last five years. This has been going on for quite some time and many more Government officials are involved in the case,” said Ilango. He and Arulraj has approached Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh with a plea to order a probe.