Only 1,596 qualify for 4,350 nursing seats

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 9

Navjot Kaur of Kapurthala has bagged the top position in the Punjab Para Medical Entrance Test (PPMET-2016), the result of which was declared by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, this evening. She got 684 out of 800 marks. The test was held at 16 centres across the state today afternoon.

For 4,350 seats of nursing courses in 109 colleges in the state, 3,804 applications were received. Of them, 3,459 students appeared in the test and only 1,596 secured the mandatory 35 per cent marks (30 per cent for SC/BC).

Among the qualified candidates, 1,214 are in the general category, 230 SC and 152 BC.

A large number of seats had remained vacant in the private nursing colleges last year. Following this, the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) had relaxed the eligibility condition.

As per the relaxed norms, in case the number of qualified candidates is less than the number of seats available, the admission shall be on the basis of merit based on the percentage of the marks in the qualifying examination 10+2 (medical).

First, the students who have qualified the PPMET will fill the seats, followed by the students of Punjab who had appeared in the PPMET and third the students of other states who appeared in the test.

In private nursing colleges, 15 per cent seats are reserved for NRI students and 50 per cent for management quota. Punjab has 109 nursing colleges which include two government and three constituent colleges of BFUHS. The annual fee in private colleges is Rs 40,250 against Rs 12,000 in government colleges.

Relaxed norms

• A large number of seats had remained vacant in private nursing colleges last year. Following this, the norms were relaxed 
• Now, in case the number of qualified candidates is less than the number of seats available, the admission shall be on the basis of merit based on the percentage of the marks in the qualifying examination 10+2 (medical)