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State allows transfer of Sinhgad Dental College students to other institutes
The decision comes after teachers and non-teaching staff at the college went on strike, disrupting academic activities and affecting students’ studies.
Pune: The Maharashtra government approved the transfer of undergraduate, postgraduate and internship students from Sinhgad Dental College and Hospital in Pune to other private unaided dental colleges in the state to prevent academic loss.
According to a government resolution (GR) issued on March 12 by the medical education and drugs department, students will shift to 24 private unaided dental colleges across Maharashtra to complete the remaining part of their courses.
The decision comes after teachers and non-teaching staff at the college went on strike, disrupting academic activities and affecting students’ studies. In view of the situation, the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), Nashik, had informed the Dental Council of India (DCI) and sought intervention to protect students’ academic interests.
The state government said it will base the transfers on students’ merit and college preference. The MUHS is the competent authority designated to implement the process and issue necessary instructions and notifications on its official website.
To accommodate the transferred students, the government has also proposed increasing the receiving colleges’ intake capacity by up to 5%, subject to approval from the Dental Council of India.
The MUHS had earlier withdrawn the affiliation of Sinhgad Dental College and Hospital, Pune, citing serious violations of statutory provisions and failure to maintain prescribed academic standards. The decision, made on January 30, will take effect starting with the 2026-27 academic year. Following the withdrawal of affiliation, the college will not be permitted to admit students to undergraduate and postgraduate dental courses starting in 2026-27.
The government has also directed that no additional fees beyond those approved by the competent authority can be charged from the transferred students. The MUHS has been asked to complete the transfer process at the earliest, with guidance from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and submit a compliance report to the state government.
Officials from the medical education and drugs department termed the move “an exceptional measure to safeguard students’ academic interests”.
“Since the transfer is under special circumstances, some rules applicable to the regular admission process, such as reservation, will not apply,” they said. “However, students will continue to receive the benefits of central or state government fee reimbursement or scholarship schemes for which they were eligible before the transfer, with necessary adjustments.”
