Medical aspirants in Maharashtra to meet government officials to discuss domicile rules

Mumbai city news: A meeting between parents and officials will be held at the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) on Saturday.

Unhappy with changes made to the domicile rule in the ongoing medical and dental admissions, parents and students want to discuss their concerns with state medical officials.

Last week, the Bombay high court relaxed domicile norms for medical and dental aspirants in the state (HT)

A meeting between parents and officials will be held at the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) on Saturday.

“The recently introduced change in domicile eligibility has made a huge difference to the state merit list. Stents from different states have made it to the to ranks, pushing ranks of students from the state behind,” said Mahendra Chaudhari, a parent. He added that due to this new rule, many students who moved to Mumbai from other states for integrated courses (preparation for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test as well as class XII), have made it to the top ranks in the recently released state merit. “This new change defies the purpose of state domicile quota because students from the state are losing out on seats in government-run institutes,” added Chaudhari.

Last week, the Bombay high court relaxed domicile norms for medical and dental aspirants in the state. Originally, those who had cleared Class X and XII from institutes in the state or had a domicile certificate, were eligible for state quota seats. Now, the clause on clearing Class 10 from the state has been dropped.

The parents also plan to fight against the high court order in the Supreme Court. “We will go to the highest authority in this country because what is happening now is unfair to our children,” said a parent.

DMER also had to change the admission schedule because of an order from the central government. The Medical Council of India (MCI) released a circular in the last week of June, requesting for uniformity in medical and dental admissions across the country.

A schedule has been shared by MCI, according to which the first round of medical counselling and seat allotment should be over by July 31. According to the original schedule of DMER, the first seat allotment list was supposed to be released by July 30, the list will now be released on July 25.