Online admission in MD courses stirs row

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, May 17

Online admission to postgraduate (MD/MS) medical courses under the minority quota at Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College (SGRDMC), Amritsar, has stirred a controversy.

As there was no physical verification of Sikh minority candidates during the counselling session by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) last month due to the Covid outbreak, the allotment of Sikh minority quota (SMQ) seats has led to numerous complaints from aspirants who have demanded a verification of the candidates.

The BFUHS started receiving many complaints after an MD (TB & Chest) course seat in the SGRDMC was allotted to a candidate who was married in a Sikh family in March this year. To be eligible for an SMQ seat (total 39 seats in SGRDMC), a candidate should have unshorn hair and his/her name should have Singh/Kaur (by birth or acquired) in it. However, the woman candidate, whose name does not have suffix ‘Kaur’, has been allotted a seat.

The authorities in SGRDM claimed that they were in favour of physical verification for Sikh minority candidates before making allotment of seats last month, but the BFUHS opted for the online verification and counselling due to non-availability of students because of the Covid crisis.

Now in view of the controversy and numerous complaints, the medical university has made the eligibility verification mandatory for all those who want to participate in the second round of counselling. They have to get their eligibility verified under the SMQ from SGRDMC before appearing in the online session or they would be declared ineligible.

The BFUHS has made it compulsory for applicants for Christian minority seats also to get their eligibility verified from the CMC, Ludhiana, before appearing for counselling.

As reaching Punjab could be difficult for Sikh and Christian applicants from other states, the BFUHS has announced that their admission would be provisional until the verification of their eligibility.