Row over domicile conditions for medical admission

Raipur, Aug 11 (UNI) A controversy has sparked during the counselling for medical admissions in Chhattisgarh after the authorities insisted that the candidates must possess a domicile certificate of 50 years to become eligible for admission.

A large number of students were not permitted to attend the counselling session for admission to state's three medical colleges and dental colleges as they could not produce domicile certificate of 50 years.

As parents and students registered their strong protest during the counselling at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College here yesterday, counselling in-charge Dr Sudhir Mukherjee said the state government had issued an order making 50 years domicile compulsory for medical admissions.

Many students, who had domicile certificate of less than five decades with them, had to return disappointed and some of the parents had even threatened to move the court against what they termed as injustice to the children, whose parents were working in Chhattisgarh region for the last many years.

Counselling in-charge Dr Sudhir Mukherjee said admissions to all seats reserved for scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other backward classes (OBCs) had been completed during the counselling, which continued till late in the night.

Meanwhile, official sources clarified that children of staff of various central government departments and state government employees, who came to Chhattisgarh from the parent state of Madhya Pradesh following bifurcation of the state, were entitled for admission in professional colleges in the state. ''The pre-condition of 50 years domicile is not applicable to them'', they added.

However, students belonging to all other categories, whose parents are in private sector jobs and other occupations within the state, would have to produce domicile certificate of 50 years to become eligible for admissions to professional colleges in the state, official sources said.

UNI