KSU allows govt holding MBBS entrance test

Shillong, Aug 29 (UNI) After the Union Governmenct arrived into an understanding on reservation of medical seats for the indigenous students of Meghalaya, the Khasi Student's Union (KSU) has allowed the Union Health Ministry to hold the maiden entrance test for MBBS course in the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health&Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).

On August 3, the KSU had earlier stalled the MBBS entrance examination to put pressure on the Union Health Ministry to concede to its demand of 30 per cent reservation of seats in NEIGRIHMS.

Today, however, the influtential student's body decided to allow the NEIGRIHMS authorities to conduct the entrance test after the Union Government agreed to look into the KSU's demand in the next academic year.

'' For now, NEIGRIMS can hold the entrance test for the MBBS course following the Union Governmnet assurance, '' KSU president Samuel Jyrwa told reporters here.

The Union Health Ministry had decided to start the MBBS course in the institute with the first intake of 50 students, including 24 students from those Northeastern states not having a medical college.

Altogether, 2,738 students had been selected to appear for the entrance test.

At present, the Union Government had reserved nine seats for the state in Meghalaya.

The NEIGRIHMS is an autonomous institute fully funded by the Union Government and the region's lone postgraduate medical institute and the third in the country to be set up by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 422.60 crore.

Meanwhile, Meghalaya had received two additional seats from the central pool and three seats were made available at Agartala government medical college and another three seats at Regional Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Imphal.

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