J&K administration’s decision to pool its MBBS seats in All India Quota (AIQ) from the current session has met with protests from students in several Government Medical Colleges.
The MBBS doctors from Valley aspiring to apply or have applied for the post-graduate admissions apprehend that they will have to compete at all India-level instead of UT-level, by this decision of the government.
The protests erupted days after the Medical Council Committee (MCC) in its notification stated that the J&K government was likely to participate in AIQ counseling from this year.
Notably, the MBBS doctors at GMC Anantnag on Wednesday also staged a protest.
Similar protests were also held in Rajouri GMC. Sources said the MBBS students of GMC Rajouri staged a protest demonstration and raised slogans against the UT government’s decision in this regard. The students said that it will affect the healthcare system in Jammu and Kashmir.
They, according to sources, said that Jammu and Kashmir is already facing dearth in PG seats for medical stream and “now the existing seats have been opened under All India Quota”.
MBBS Quota: 50 percent seats from GMCs and 100 percent seats from SKIMS
One of the protesting MBBS doctors at GMC Srinagar, Tajamul Islam said around 50 percent seats from GMCs and 100 percent seats from SKIMS will be pooled in AIQ which will prove detrimental for the J&K doctors.
“It simply means that 50 percent of seats will go out of the hands of local students and only two to three students will be selected for the PG course,” he said.
He said everyone was aware of the situation in J&K where even internet blockade remains for around seven months. “And how can the government expect us to compete with students at all India-level,” Dr Tajamul Islam asked.
While referring to pooling of seats in AIQ, he said for every 70 Indian students only one will be from J&K. “And also 100 percent seats will be pooled in AIQ in SKIMS. It will be injustice with us and will ruin our career,” he said.
The MBBS doctors at GMC Srinagar said they were protesting against the government move as it was “practically impossible” to share seats. “Sharing seats in All India Quota will snatch our job which will add to our misery and also to the unemployment in J&K,” the protesting MBBS doctors said.
Patient Doctor ratio
Dr Tajamul during the protest at GMC Srinagar said the candidates who will come from outside J&K will stay here only for three years to complete the PG course and later will go back to their original places. “It will again create problems in patient doctor ratio. Pooling of seats is not a good decision in any respect,” he said.
“In J&K around 3000 candidates apply for PG but at All India-level the number goes beyond one lakh. It is not possible for us to qualify the exams in such conditions,” another protesting doctor said.
Devender Singh Rana raises concern
Sharing this concern National Conference Provincial President Devender Singh Rana said the interests of the local candidates should not be jeopardized.
Interacting with a deputation of NEET PG aspirants in Jammu, which called on him here this afternoon, Rana, according to a statement issued here, said that the quota of 50 per cent seats for the outsiders will retard the chances of local candidates, which will eventually lead to deficiency of specialist in Jammu and Kashmir with the pass outs opting for jobs in their respective states.
The deputation sought the intervention of the civil society, intelligentsia and the political class in getting rollback of this notification for the larger interest of Jammu and Kashmir in general and the aspiring candidates in particular.
Rana assured that he will take up the issue at the appropriate forum.