Govt eases norms for 46 vacant MDS seats

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 28

The state Medical Education Department has announced a relaxation in the eligibility condition for 46 vacant seats in the Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) in 12 private dental colleges in the state.

So far, candidates scoring less than 50 per cent marks in the Post-Graduate Medical Entrance Test (PGMET) were not eligible for admission in any post-graduate dental course.

Now, every candidate who appeared in the PGMET-2016 is eligible for admission in the MDS course. The Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) yesterday evening asked the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) to consider all students to fill 46 vacant MDS seats in the second extended counselling to be held on May 31 here.

The PGMET was conducted by the BFUHS on February 13 for post-graduate medical and dental courses in Punjab. In two rounds of counselling held by the BFUHS, there was an acute shortage of eligible candidates for filling 81 MDS seats in private dental colleges. Only 35 seats could be filled.

Besides demanding relaxation in the eligibility, the Association of Punjab Private Self-Financed Dental and Medical Colleges sought that the state government should allow them to make a cut of Rs 1.35 lakh and Rs 2.35 lakh per year in the annual fee for six dental specialty courses so that they could fill the vacant seats. The state government has not taken any decision on the fee structure.

“All candidates who appeared in PGMET-2016 and completed BDS degree from a college affiliated to BFUHS are eligible for the MDS course,” said Sat Pal Singh, Assistant Registrar, BFUHS.