Review modified policy of MD, MS seat distribution at GMCH 32, UT Admin urged

Chandigarh: With the ongoing counselling for the MD/MS admissions at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCh) Sector 32, a delegation of the parents of students of the institute has appealed to the UT administrator Banwarilal Purohit to review the decision of Chandigarh Department of Medical Education (DME) regarding the altered policy for seat distribution in MD/MS admissions within the UT Pool at the institute.

This comes after the UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg on August 4 directed the institute to revise the counselling process and sequencing promptly for MD/MS admissions for this academic year to ensure a completely fair and transparent admission process.

The delegation of the parents has requested the authorities to ask the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) to consider the Punjab and Haryana High Court order dated April 23, 2019.

It has been contended by the delegation that DME is relying on the old order while ignoring the latest order, for reasons best known to them. Therefore, the delegation urged the authorities for postponing the proposed counselling of August 16 for a few days ill all relevant latest High Court orders are considered.

Further, the delegation has asked that the order giving first preference to smaller pool of students over larger pool of students, should be directed to be withdrawn and the matter should be referred to a select committee comprising all stakeholders of this process and should be well scrutinised.

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As per the latest media report by Hindustan Times, the representatives have urged that, until then, the counselling should be conducted as per the rules followed in the recent years. In this regard, they also requested for a vigilance inquiry into the insistence of DME officers to provide advantages to students who have completed their MBBS in other states.

Previously, the Health Secretary of the UT had asked the institute for holding only online counselling for MD/MS admissions from the next year onwards. As per the orders, GMCH-32 was directed to ensure that the counselling for admission in state quota (IP Pool and UT Pool) is done only through online mode from the 2024 session.

Meanwhile, UT Health Secretary Yashpal Garg clarified that the administration will stick to the changes as modifications will ensure fairness. He mentioned that the only change made was that an IP Pool candidate will be considered first against a seat in the same pool if the desired branch is available. The eligibility criteria of the Institutional Preference Pool (IP) and the UT Pool was not changed, he added.

The first round of counselling was scheduled to take place today. Further, on the same day, a plea challenging changes made by the UT administration in the admission process for the courses was listed for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Also Read: Exemptions Removed: Only two students under defense category secure MBBS admission at GMCH 32