The NRI students have shown their displeasure on the notification issued by state government on April 5 making admission to PG courses in different medical colleges of state based on the percentile merit obtained in National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
The notification had made two NRI students ineligible as the notification was issued after the conduct of the test. Both had paid 1500 dollars each as eligibility and admission fees to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and university had issued them eligibility certificates also, they claimed.
“Notice for NEET PG-2013 was issued in September 2012 and there was no mention for the need of NEET for NRI students. Earlier NRI students were exempted from this test. NEET was conducted from November 23 to December 6 in 2012,” said Dr Kuljeet Singh Virk, one of the applicant, a resident of Dasuya.Another applicant which was denied admission due to non-appearance in NEET PG-2013 was Dr Mahesh Inder Singh Chauhan, a resident of Ludhiana.
A case was also filed in the supreme court at Vellore in Tamilnadu challenging the validity of NEET in admission for 2013 in December 2012 due to which the NEET PG2013 results were kept pending, he said adding that, “deciding on which the court had stated on May 13, 2013 that NEET PG is a voluntary exam for year 2013 and those states who wish to follow the results of NEET PG-2313 can follow them, while others can follow the old pattern for admission for this year.”
{{/usCountry}}A case was also filed in the supreme court at Vellore in Tamilnadu challenging the validity of NEET in admission for 2013 in December 2012 due to which the NEET PG2013 results were kept pending, he said adding that, “deciding on which the court had stated on May 13, 2013 that NEET PG is a voluntary exam for year 2013 and those states who wish to follow the results of NEET PG-2313 can follow them, while others can follow the old pattern for admission for this year.”
{{/usCountry}}“Without waiting for the decision of Supreme Court, the state government made the appearance of NEET compulsory for NRI students and this is highly unjustified. We had already applied under NRI quota at BHUHS in March and university had also certified me as eligible for admission into PG 2013,” claimed Virk.
For 10 seats reserved for NRI students in Punjab, only five students applied and two of them were declared as ineligible due to this notification, he rued adding that, “seven of the seats are lying as vacant.”It is pertinent to mention here that the same fate was faced by the NRI students aspiring for admission to UG classes. The affected students had moved their representations to NRI Sabha seeking intervention and reversal of this notification.
Speaking to HT, President NRI Sabha Punjab Jasvir Singh Gill said, “We have received complaints in this regard from different parents and it appeared that injustice had been done with the NRI students. We have written to minister, Medical Education and Research Bhagat Chunni Lal and minister for NRI affairs Bikram Singh Majithia for their immediate attention on this issue otherwise NRI students would be forced to study in colleges situated outside the Punjab and it would be a great injustice also.”Vice Chancellor BFUHS Dr Shawinder Singh Gill was not available for comments despite of several attempts.