Students from the Maharashtra state board have bagged 83% of seats in government-run and private medical and dental institutes in the state in 2017, reveals data released by the Directorate of Medical Education & Research (DMER).
The data also shows that less than 10% seats have gone to students from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and HSC students have managed to get 88% seats in private institutes. “The domicile criteria originally proposed by the state was very strong and clear. Even though the norms were relaxed by the Bombay high court, most seats went to state students,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, DMER. He added that looking at the admission figures, the state might see no more reason to push for change in current rules of admissions under the domicile quota.
A government resolution (GR) released by the medical education department of Maharashtra on April 27 said the state had decided to keep aside more than 67% of seats in private and deemed institutes for candidates with state domicile. Also, for the first time 25% of seats in deemed medical and dental universities were to be reserved for SC, ST, VJNT and OBC candidates.Within three days, the HC called for a stay on this GR and a week later, the apex court upheld the stay.
After initially being stubborn about reserving seats only for students who have cleared both class 10 and 12 from Maharashta under the domicile rule, the HC later relaxed norms. The domicile quota was opened for those who have a state domicile or those who have only cleared class 12 from the state. Also, the reservation was only applicable to private and government-run medical and dental institutes, whereas all deemed institutes were exempted from the rule. This too got much flak from parents. “Maharashtra has the second highest number of medical and dental institutes in the country and so the state attracts students from across the country. However, our children should get the first preference over others, even in deemed institutes,” said Sachin Durve, parent of an aspirant.
{{/usCountry}}After initially being stubborn about reserving seats only for students who have cleared both class 10 and 12 from Maharashta under the domicile rule, the HC later relaxed norms. The domicile quota was opened for those who have a state domicile or those who have only cleared class 12 from the state. Also, the reservation was only applicable to private and government-run medical and dental institutes, whereas all deemed institutes were exempted from the rule. This too got much flak from parents. “Maharashtra has the second highest number of medical and dental institutes in the country and so the state attracts students from across the country. However, our children should get the first preference over others, even in deemed institutes,” said Sachin Durve, parent of an aspirant.
{{/usCountry}}With the hope of avoiding any last minute changes to the 2018 medical and dental admissions process, parents of students aiming for seats next year are already meeting officials for clarity. “Last year the state government gave us a lot of hope by introducing a domicile quota in all institutes, only to squash it later. Till the very end, we thought we’ll win the case but the court did not accept last minute changes,” said Sudha Shenoy, a parent. She added that parents and students are planning to visit the DMER soon.