Private, deemed institutes to act against Maharashtra’s domicile reservation

A group of private institutes are planning to speak with the government about the reservation. Some other institutes are gathering support of private and deemed medical institutes from across the country in order to file a national-level intervention against state-controlled admissions.

A day after HT reported the state government’s decision to introduce 67% domicile reservation in private and deemed medical and dental institutes in Maharashtra, the institutes are making their displeasure public.

According to a government resolution (GR) released by the medical education department on Thursday evening, the state has decided to keep aside more than 67% of seats in private and deemed institutes for candidates with the state domicile. (HT file photo)

While a group of private institutes are planning to speak with the government about this decision, others are gathering support of private and deemed medical institutes from across the country in order to file a national-level intervention, seeking exemption from state controlled admissions.

“There should be just one criteria for admission — merit. A student’s caste, creed or place of birth should have no stake on an education seat. The government can go about making reservations for government-run institutes but not on private and deemed institutes,” said Kamal Kishore Kadam, president of the Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges. He added that the government should have no stake on private and deemed medical institutes, especially since they don’t invest in them.

“The government talks about equality and zero-bias admissions, and then introduces such biases. Instead, the government’s concern should be to ensure fair and transparent admissions,” said Kadam. He added that they are planning to organise a meeting with state government officials in next week.

Meanwhile, deemed institutes are not pleased with the introduction of social reservation by the state government for undergraduate and post graduate medical and dental admissions. “This kind of government control is uninvited and against our deemed status. We will gather support from other institutes from across the country and plan a national-level intervention soon,” said a spokesperson of a state-based deemed institute.

At present, a petition filed by deemed institutes against a circular by the Medical Council of India (MCI) — making state conducted common admissions process compulsory for all medical and dental institutes — is pending for hearing at the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court.