Merit must be criteria for admission: HC

The Madras High Court bench here today said merit must be the main criteria for admission to any professional course.
Allowing petitions filed by three doctors, who scored high marks in the entrance examination for post graduate course but were not given admission because they had resigned government posts within two years after they were recruited, Justice S Vaidhyanathan said meritorious persons should not be unfairly treated.
Government officials, including the Director of Medical Education, were trying to "repress" them on the ground that they had given up their government job, the judge said.
Officials had accepted their resignation and relieved them. Theoretically, they were private candidates and they should be given admission according to merit as they had scored high marks, the judge said.

The doctors had given up their government jobs to pursue higher studies. "Such doctors are required in plenty to make the country disease-free and also for better growth and development", the judge said.
The doctors submitted that they joined as Assistant Surgeons in Tamil Nadu Medical Service. But to pursue higher studies they had resigned.
The government counsel submitted that their applications were rejected as they had resigned government posts within two years after they were recruited.
Rejecting the argument, the judge said there was already a paucity of meritorious and service-oriented students. For admission to any professional course merit must play an important role, the judge said.