Blind medical student's admission cancelled; threatens to commit suicide
What's the story
Suresh, a 19-year-old medical student with a vision disability, has threatened suicide following the cancellation of his admission by Medical Council of India (MCI). The Karnataka student cannot see beyond a distance of 8cm due to which his admission was withdrawn. The case highlights Karnataka authorities' negligence who gave him admission in a government college in 2016 without taking note of his medical condition.
Letter to MCI
Suresh writes about struggle to secure medical seat in letter
Suresh explained his struggle to secure the medical seat last year in a five-page letter to the MCI and a "Notice of Death". He wrote despite 70% visual disability, he got 86% in Class 12 examinations. He studied hard for the Karnataka medical college exam and sold ancestral property to pay the first-year fees at a time that coincided with his parents' death.
2016-17
Allotted a seat in Karnataka's RIMS College
Karnataka Examination Authority officials allotted Suresh a seat in Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences under disability quota. He secured a 20,000 rank out of 1.5 lakh in the state's 2016 Common Entrance Test (CET) and joined the government college in Jul'16. In Jun'17, MCI canceled his admission as it violated a 2009 regulation, which says students with over 70% disability are ineligible for admission.