Badal apprised of vacant seats in medical and dental colleges

Chandigarh, Sept 12 (UNI) Taking cognizance of the vacant seats in the Medical Colleges of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal convened a meeting of the Medical Education and Research Department to review the latest position in this regard here late last evening.

Medical Education and Research Minister Tikshan Sud apprised the Chief Minister about the counseling process and assigned various factors for the vacant seats due to the delayed notification for the admission to Post Graduate courses and PMET 2007. The delay was caused due to pending litigation in Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding NRI quota seats, non-participation in the counseling by Private Medical/Dental Institutions, increase in MBBS/ BDS seats.

Students sought admissions in others states because of delayed counseling and revision and increase in the fee structure.

The Medical Education and Research Minister informed Mr Badal that there were 770 total seats for MBBS courses out of which 350 were available in Government Colleges and these all have been filled up except 7 NRI quota seats at Faridkot.

Similarly, under BDS there were 80 seats in government Dental colleges which have been filled up except NRI quota seats. In MBBS there were 420 seats in private colleges out of which 391 have been filled up and 29 NRI seats were still vacant.

In BDS in private colleges 337 out of 340 seats have been filled up under government quota and under management quota there were 155 vacant seats out of 340 seats, out of which 40 were of general category, 78 were of NRI quota, 34 under SC/BC quota and 3 under J and K quota.

Mr Sud further stated that as far as fee fixation was concerned, under MBBS out of total 770 seats 350 seats were in government colleges where there was no change in fee structure. He pointed out that all the 210 seats under private sector 50 per cent government quota where fee has been raised from one lakh to 1.15 lakh have been filled up. There was no change in the fee structure for 98 seats under NRI quota, out of which 29 seats were still vacant.

Mr Sud assured the Chief Minister that all the remaining vacant seats would be filled in a fair and transparent manner according to the prescribed norms of the counseling procedure.

UNI