Students point discrepancies in PG med course seat allotment

Even as the Union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) and respective state governments have delayed entrance exams and admissions process for higher education

Even as the Union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) and respective state governments have delayed entrance exams and admissions process for higher education courses for the time being, the state common entrance test (CET) cell late on Wednesday published a seat matrix for post graduate (PG) medical courses.

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While admission dates are yet to be released, students and parents have pointed at discrepancies in the quota seats again. Despite an overall increase of 150 seats in PG courses this year, many have pointed that most popular courses have got fewer than three new seats across medical institutes. Parents also argued that even after a Supreme Court order clarified that quota for economically weaker section (EWS) should only be implemented after increasing seats by at least 10%, the order is being flouted.

Students are now planning to approach the Supreme Court despite the ongoing lockdown.

“Maximum seat increase in government-run medical institutes (GMCs) is in non-clinical branches and yet, EWS is applicable on all branches. Due to this, students from open category are left with fewer seats compared to last year despite increase in seats,” said Sudha Shenoy, activist and parent of a medical student.

In January this year, the Medical Council of India (MCI) approved new seats in medical institutes across the country, including 150 new seats in institutes in Maharashtra. Experts, however, have pointed that distribution of news seats gives very little advantage to students as all seats in clinical courses (surgery, paediatrics, and medicine), which are more in demand, have been allotted to private medical institutes whereas government-run institutes got non-clinical seats (microbiology, physiology, social and preventive medicine) that attract very few takers.

“Private institutes tend to charge more fees which students can’t afford and GMCs are giving no respite to students. With the lockdown in place, we are not even sure if the court will accept our petition now,” said a PG medical aspirant. Students had finished the online registration process in February but due to the lockdown, rest of the admissions process has been stuck.