Kanyakumari student gets MBBS seat via video call after missing counselling
Chennai: In the ongoing NEET UG 2026 counselling, a student from Kanyakumari was allotted a medical seat via video call recently, despite being unable to attend the MBBS and BDS counselling session in Chennai in person.
According to officials, this is a first for the Selection Committee operating under the Directorate of Medical Education (DME).
This student was the ninth candidate under the ex-servicemen ward quota. He was not present at the counseling venue during the roll call when officials were calling out the candidates' names. When officials contacted him by phone, they discovered that he was completely unaware that the counselling was scheduled for that day.
However, the student could not reach Chennai from Kanyakumari before the allotment window closed, so officials decided to complete the process via video call. The counseling was conducted in the presence of the student's mother, and he chose Government Ramanathapuram Medical College.
The student has been asked to visit the college and present all original certificates for verification. As part of the documentation process, the entire video call was recorded and securely stored.
Speaking to TNIE on the matter, Selection Committee Secretary Dr V Lokanayaki said that officials contacted the student upon realizing he was absent.
“He told us that he did not know the counselling date. Since it was impossible for him to reach the venue from Kanniyakumari before the allotment was over, we took a quick decision to make a video call,” she said.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Tamil Nadu, released the tentative counselling schedules for MBBS and BDS admissions for the 2026-27 session under Special Categories as well as the 7.5 percent preferential reservation for state Government School students.
