Chaos reigns as 1,500 students clamour for last 90 medical seats

Confusion ends after SC lifts its stay on the admission process two hours after implementing it

The last day of admissions to medical and dental institutes in the state for the upcoming academic year remained as chaotic as the day one. Hundreds of students and their parents gathered at the Grant Medical College, attached to the Sir JJ Hospital, on Friday to claim 90 seats (40 medical and 50 dental courses) scattered across various government medical colleges in Maharashtra.

New Delhi, India - July 24, 2016: Students leave the campus of Guru Harkrishan Public school at Vasant Vihar after appearing for Neet 2, All India Pre Medical entrance exam, in New Delhi, India, on Sunday , July 24, 2016. (Photo by Arvind Yadav / Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The chaos, said government officials, worsened due to a ruling passed by the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad bench ordering a stay on the Friday’s admissions. However, it was lifted in within two hours.

“We received a message at 12:30pm to stop admissions following an order by the Aurangabad bench. Parents and students who had gathered in large numbers panicked, which added to the chaos,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER).

He added the court order was based on a petition filed by some students in Aurangabad seeking more time to complete the admission process, as it was ‘impossible’ for students from some parts of Maharashtra to reach Mumbai for admissions on Friday.

“The court lifted the ban by 2:30pm, following which we restarted the admission process and continued allotting seats to students on the basis of merit,” Shingare said.

According to officials from JJ Hospital, about 1,500 applicants had gathered on the hospital premises to try their luck at bagging the last few government seats. Some of the parents also objected to the state’s decision of keeping the last round of admissions open to all.

“These seats should have been allotted on the basis of domicile. Our children have the right to these seats over those from other states,” said A Kannan, a parent.

However, Shingare countered the argument stating that the said these seats were those that remained unoccupied from the All India Quota (AIQ) and therefore they were open to all. “We, however, went by merit,” he said.

While the state had decided to keep spot admissions open only to those students who are yet to find seats, the Aurangabad bench made it clear that it should be open to all . “We went by the court order and gave admissions to students who could provide photo copies of documents to confirm their admissions,” said Shingare., adding that while 40 medical seats were alloted by 4:30pm, the admission process for 50 dental seats were on till 9pm.