SGPC-run Faridkot college slashes govt quota seats

Balwant Garg

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Tribune News Service

Faridkot, August 22

The SGPC-run Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Science and Research (SGRDIMS) today announced to convert 65 MBBS seats under the government quota into management and NRI quota seats.

So far, there were 75 government quota seats out of the total 150 MBBS seats at the institute. However, while inviting aspirants to register for online counseling, the institute today announced that there were only 10 government quota seats.

In the PMET-2016 conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) on June 11, 75 government quota seats were announced in SGRDIMS.

In what has come out as a shock for the BFUHS, the SGRDIMS not only cut short government seats from 75 to 10 but also announced that it will conduct the counseling to fill 140 out of total 150 MBBS seats. As per a public notice issued by the SGRDIMS, the BFUHS will conduct the counseling to fill only 10 government quota seats for this medical college.

Dr Raj Bahadur, vice chancellor, BFUHS, said the university conducted the PMET-2016 and started counseling process as per the state government notification. So far, there is no official information about the conversion of government quota seats into management quota in SGRDIMS and this college conducting the counseling to fill these seats, he said.

Last year, it was Adesh Medical College, Bathinda, which had ended the government quota of 75 MBBS seats and this time it is SGRDIMS, rued students.

The SGRDIMS authorities claimed that the institute had now been granted the status of a deemed university, so they were authorised to conduct counseling and convert seats.

All three government medical colleges in Punjab have 85 per cent government quota seats and 15 per cent NRI quota MBBS seats. The government quota seats in the state’s private medical colleges are 50 per cent.

Besides, the SGRDIMS has fixed August 31 for starting the counseling for the management quota seats. But, the BFUHS is yet to announce the date for the starting of counseling.