State asks Amritsar medical varsity to frame rules

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 7

Without a statute, Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences (SGRDUHS), Amritsar, last week came out with its reservation policy and fee structure for MBBS and BDS seats, triggering a controversy.

The matter came up for discussion at Thursday’s meeting called by the Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), DHE, wherein the university authorities failed to submit the statute, rules and regulations under which the institution would function.

The ACS was surprised when functionaries of the SGPC-run medical university submitted a copy of the two-line handwritten agenda prepared by its governing council on August 31, 2016.

The ACS asked the SGRDUHS to prepare its statute and rules. For this, the university’s governing council has called a meeting for Saturday.

The state government had established the SGRDUHS on August 19, 2016. Kirpal Singh Badungar, SGPC president, is its chancellor.

In the absence of the statute, the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) had issued a notification on June 3, declaring that all 150 seats in Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College, a constituent of the SGRDUHS, will be filled as per the old formula.

As per this formula, 50 per cent of the seats will under the government quota and the rest under the management/minority quota seats (including 15 per cent NRI quota).

But on July 2, the SGRDUHS scrapped the government quota and shifted 75 MBBS seats under this quota to the management quota. The university also announced a new fee structure for all MBBS seats. The course fee for a government quota seat is Rs 13.43 lakh and that for a management quota seat, it is Rs 46 lakh.

Geeta Sharma, Principal-cum-Director, Sri Guru Das Medical College, said, “The university has the right to decide its reservation policy and fee structure. Besides, there is no restriction by any Act or a policy on admitting students without the approval of a statute. Several private universities are functioning in the state without a statute.”

As the counselling for admission to medical and dental colleges in the state is in progress, the shifting of 75 MBBS seats from government to management quota has left students confused.