Controversies mar MBBS admissions

Balwant Garg

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Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 7

The counselling for MBBS admissions being conducted by Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) is riddled with many confusions, pending the controversy over admission criterion for 1,135 seats in the state. The confusion is over the issue of candidates who have passed their classes X, XI and XII from Punjab and micro reservation in private medical colleges.

After a decision by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday that only those who have passed these classes from Chandigarh schools will be entitled to get reservation under the UT quota in Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, from this session, students in Punjab are waiting for a decision on their writ petitions filed in the high court on similar grounds.

Some candidates have challenged the Punjab Government decision of backtracking on the medical admission notification it was to implement from the 2019-20 session to ensure more weightage to state students in MBBS courses and check the seats going to non-residents.

The controversy started on June 6, when the state government set aside its own notification of 2016, which said that from the 2019-2020 session students who had done classes X, XI and XII from Punjab schools would be qualified to join medical colleges in the state. In a new notification, the state government said those who had done their classes XI and XII from Punjab were eligible for admission under state quota.

Alleging that the new notification had put the state’s bonafide candidates at a disadvantage vis -à-vis the outsiders, who were thus entitled to compete in both Punjab and their state of domicile, some students had challenged this notification in the high court on the pattern of Chandigarh students.

As admissions are already underway, the high court is expected to give its decision on the criterion on Monday.

The problem with BFUHS is that it has already prepared the merit list of candidates as per the state government June 6 notification. If there is a change in the eligibility criterion, on the pattern of Chandigarh, a revised merit list would have to be prepared.

Other than this puzzle, the BFUHS is facing another challenge in the demand of 1 per cent micro reservation in private medical colleges.

Earlier, the micro reservation, such as sports, terror-affected families etc, was notified to be given in government colleges only. But last year, a student got admission in DMC, Ludhiana, as terror-affected family candidate. Now, on this basis, there is a demand of micro-reservation in private medical colleges as well, which has no mention in state government’s notification.

Meanwhile, keeping in view these controversies, the BFUHS has extended the online filing and submission of counselling forms from July 2 to July 8.

1,135 seats medical seats on offer

• The state govt had said from the 2019-20 session, students who had cleared Classes X, XI and XII from Punjab schools will be qualified to join medical colleges in the state
• In a new notification on June 6, the government said those who had studied Classes XI and XII from Punjab were eligible for admission under state quota 
• Students alleged that the new notification had put the state’s bonafide candidates at a disadvantage vis -à-vis the outsiders