The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) has been asked to ensure that top-scorers in National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test 2023, in the State get seats from the central pool during counselling.
The appeal, from a student organisation, has urged the DME to identify top-scorers and guide them in getting admission through the 15% of the MBBS seats, surrendered to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for all-India counselling.
The State has 36 medical colleges, with each of them admitting at least 100 students every year. Some of the older colleges admit 250 students. From each of the college, 15% of the seats are surrendered to the DGHS, which conducts counselling. These seats are open to students from across the country.
However, even students with good NEET scores from the State, despite a good chance to bag a seat through the All India Quota (AIQ), do not participate in the counselling.
On Thursday, representatives of the State branch of Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) of India met Health Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi to highlighting their demand.
SIO state secretary Syed Saifuddin said that the State must ensure students from various categories, who have secured over 650 in NEET, get admitted through the AIQ. This would clear the way for more students from the State to be admitted through the 85% State quota seats in government colleges.
The representatives said that in the academic year 2022-23, only 14 students from the State were admitted under the AIQ (of 750 seats in total). The rest of the seats went to students from other States, they contended.
