Punjab medical colleges to fill unoccupied All India quota seats with merit

Punjab: Punjab medical colleges will follow a different approach this academic session to fill the 15% vacant seats under the all-India quota; which remains unoccupied after the third counseling concludes.

The difference in the attempt is marked by the fact that till now the 15% all-India quota seats were being filled on the basis of state quota merit. Now, it will be done on the basis of AIPMT-2016 merit.

It is reported that in 2015, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, was looking at filling the existing 17 MBBS and 13 BDS vacant seats under the national quota through its state quota. These posts were surrendered to Punjab on September 17 by the director general of health services. However, the apex court put a ban on the practice and MCI further put a notification to comply with the court’s orders. Still, the deadline was over by the time SC order came and there was a status quo on the admission process, and hence, the allotted seats decision could not be reversed.

In order to be prepared in advance to implement the court’s order this year, it has been clearly stated by the university that it will be re-advertising all-India quota seats for 2016-17 academic session. This is an important step so as to avoid any legal complications too. The re-advertising is subject to the matter of surrendering by the director general of health services to the state after the end of third counselling in September, and fill them through the AIPMT-2016 merit.

HT reported according to the tentative list released by the university for the next session, only 670 MBBS seats have been confirmed so far. These are 150 seats each in Patiala and Amritsar government medical colleges, 150 in Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Amritsar, 70 in Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana, 100 in Gian Sagar Medical College, Banur, and 50 seats in Government Medical College, Faridkot.

It is to be seen whether the Patiala and Faridkot colleges get an increase of 50 seats each.

Besides, no permission for admission has been granted to 100 seats of Chintpurni Medical College, Pathankot. Medical education secretary Hussan Lal said the college would be included in the admission process in case the MCI allowed permission before the first admission counselling in June.