Srinagar: The Health and Medical Education department has said that it will seek one-year deferment for pooling of both the MBBS and the MD/MS seats by J&K in the all-India quota.
Following a series of meetings and subsequent tweet of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Sunday, the Health and Medical Education department of J&K Government would write to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to allow a moratorium of one year for implementing the all-India quota (AIQ) in the UT.
Additional Chief Secretary to J&K Government, Vivek Bhardwaj told Greater Kashmir that LG had acknowledged the concerns of aspirants of MBBS and MD/MS seats both and the official communication from the Government here would seek deferment of AIQ implementation for both categories of seats.
The UG NEET was conducted on 11 September and the Government had announced that 15 percent of MBBS seats in the medical colleges here would be pooled in the AIQ. Later, it was also announced that 50 percent seats of MD/MS in various medical colleges of the UT and 100 percent seats in SKIMS Soura would be filled through AIQ.
Bhardwaj said that AIQ was “not to be feared” and would give aspirants here better opportunities than what they have at present. “The medical education in the UT needs to evolve and AIQ would be implemented, the timing is being decided,” he said.
He added that the same system of filling seats as was present in other states and UTs will be adopted in J&K.
On Sunday, the official Twitter handle of LG Sinha tweeted: “Met NEET Post-Graduate MD/MS aspirants today. Listened to their concerns about UT’s participation in all India quota in the current year. Students sought more time for preparation. Considering their petition, I’ll request the central government to defer it for the current year.”
He had added: “It (deferment) will allow the aspirant more time for preparation. They will be in advantageous position and eligible for 5000 seats in MD/MS under all India quota from existing UT seats of 543. Undergraduate students will have access to a larger pool of 4568 seats instead of existing 1000 seats.”
“J&K UT has 543 postgraduate seats for MD/MS. While participating in AIQ it shall contribute 271 seats, whereas the students of J&K shall become eligible for 5000 seats in MD/MS under AIQ. J&K students will be in an advantageous position with access to a large number of seats,” the Lt Governor said.