State legislature finds the 70:30 formula for medical admissions unacceptable

Local public representatives from Marathwada, including MLCs Satish Chavan and Amar Singh Pandit and Leaders of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, demanded that the quota-within-quota reservation be done away with.

Aurangabad: The issue of 70% regional quota for admissions to MBBS courses in the state when discussed last week created a din in the state legislature. Members emphatically argued, that such a reservation would stand against the interests of students from Marathwada and Vidarbha.

Local public representatives from Marathwada, including MLCs Satish Chavan and Amarasinh Pandit and Leaders of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde, demanded that the quota-within-quota reservation is done away with reported the TOI.

The issue which became like live wire had the house going into a 10-minute adjournment, as both opposition and ruling party leaders, including the Medical Education Minister, Girish Mahajan, rushed to the well of the House.

When proceedings resumed, the Medical Education Minister Mahajan amidst Mahajan, amidst mayhem from both benches, announced the establishment of a new medical college at Osmanabad, Marathwada within the Konkan region very soon.

A recent TOI report spoke of Marathwada student concern over the 70% regional quota for admissions to MBBS courses keeping them at a receiving end. MBBS seat strength in Marathwada happens to be lesser than Western Maharashtra and Vidarbha.

MBBS course admissions in Maharashtra mainly encompass Marathwada, Vidarbha, and Rest of Maharashtra.

Keeping aside the All-India quota of 15%, 70% of the seats in colleges in each region out of remaining total 85% state quota seats are reserved for candidates from the respective region, while the remaining 15% are kept aside for students from other regions.

The lack of seat strength in Marathwada’s medical colleges as compared to the other two regions has led to the students and parents go up in arms against the 70-30 quota formula for medical college admission.

The formula has been in place since the early 80s, is now facing stiff opposition with stakeholders asking for its scrapping due to changed circumstance like the setting up of the Nashik-based Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in 1998, with jurisdiction over the whole of the state of Maharashtra.

The admission rule in question has been in place since the early 80s. Stakeholders have been demanding to scrap of the formula in the wake of the changed set of conditions, including setting up of the Nashik-based Maharashtra University of Health Sciences in 1998, which has jurisdiction over the whole of the state of Maharashtra.

The matter is sub judice with the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court. A verdict on petitions filed a year and a half ago is still awaited.

Dilip Deshmukh, Chief Coordinator, CET cell of Rajarshi Shahu Junior Science College, Latur, said scores of students hopes are pinned on the court. They feel the quota within quota issue could spark a regionalism controversy, therefore, they added, “We expect relief from the judiciary,”

They feel that the announcement of the new medical college in Osmanabad might be a tactic of the government to evade criticism over the 70:30 formula.