Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University to revert to new exam rules

Updated on: Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University will from August 2012 once again make it mandatory for medical and dental students to get a minimum of 50% in each paper to clear the examination, vice-chancellor Dr Mayil Vahanan Natarajan said here on Monday.

The university received a communication from Dental Council of India secretary Dr SK Ojha saying the DCI's executive committee in its meeting decided that the eligibility criteria and exam rules framed by the council were the bare minimum and that a state government or affiliating university was free to prescribe higher standards.

The university officials said the Medical Council of India had already conveyed a similar message though an affidavit filed in the Madras high court.

The university first brought the new examination rules in August 2011 when more than 40% of first year medical students failed to clear their examination.

There was a furore on campuses and student staged protests. After they moved court and petitioned chief minister J Jayalalithaa, the university was forced to revise its decision.

The court ordered the university to follow MCI guidelines. The number of first year students who passed the exam rose to 84%, but university officials weren't convinced with the exam and evaluation patterns.

"Communications from DCI and MCI establishes the supremacy of the university in establishing higher standards in syllabus, curriculum, teaching, training and examination. This is a victory for the medical university. All the faculty and students have to abide by our new regulations," he said.

The university has promised to have two teachers evaluate each paper. The highest score will be considered as the final mark. If there is a huge difference between the two evaluations, a third faculty will be called in, he said.

The university officials said the Medical Council of India had already conveyed a similar message though an affidavit filed in the Madras high court.
 

Times of India

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