State Quota BDS Seats remain vacant at IGGDC Jammu, Aspirants blame BOPEE

Jammu: The students willing to get admitted to Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course in Jammu and Kashmir are upset with the Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) for keeping 4 State quota BDS seats vacant in Indira Gandhi Government Dental College (IGGDC), Jammu.

While students are upset because BOPEE, the regulatory authority that conducts the counselling for MBBS/BDS admission, has left affordable government BDS seats vacant, BOPEE has claimed that there was no candidate for these seats even in the waiting list.

The results of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Examination 2022 had been declared on September 7, 2022. Following this, BOPEE had conducted the counselling for admission to various Government and private Dental Colleges last October on the basis of the merit list.

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IGGDC Jammu has altogether 54 State quota BDS seats, and another 9 seats under the Central Quota. Sources informed Daily Excelsior that during the allotment process of BDS students to the government and private dental colleges across the State, 4 State Quota seats remained vacant in IGGDC Jammu. Apart from this, one central quota BDS seat also remained vacant. 

The daily adds that students have alleged that even though BOPEE allotted students to private dental colleges, where the annual fees are in lakhs compared to the affordable government dental college seats, the vacant seats in IGGDC did not get filled.

Speaking about the matter, a BDS student admitted to a private dental college in Jammu told the daily on the condition of anonymity that the government dental seats at IGGDC remained vacant even though the college authorities had informed the BOPEE about the vacant seats. 

The student further added that two mop-up rounds had been conducted by the Union Government to ensure that there are no vacant seats in the Gorvernment dental colleges in the J &K. However, the seats in IGGDC, which became vacant due to the non-joining of some candidates, did not get filled by BOPEE by conducting a 2nd Mop-up round of counselling.

Addressing the matter, the Principal of IGGDC Jammu, Dr. Rakesh Krishan Gupta told the daily that BOPEE had directed the colleges to inform about the vacant seats within December 15, 2022. He claimed that the college authorities had informed about the vacant seats within the deadline. In fact, when the Central Government extended the date for filling up the vacant seats till January 15, the college had also sent a communication to the BOPEE for filling up the vacant seats. However, nothing was done in this regard.

Meanwhile, BOPEE authorities claimed that the second mop-up round was not conducted for filling up the vacant BDS seats as there were no candidates even in the waiting list.

The authorities told the daily, “The second mop-up round was possible only if Centre would have lowered down the percentile for admission but that didn’t happen.”

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