OBC medical aspirants turned away by colleges
The first day of counselling for admission to UG courses in the three medical colleges turns out to be a disappointing affair for several OBC candidates, reports Ritika Chopra.
The first day of counselling for admission to undergraduate medical courses (MBBS/BDS) in the three colleges — Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), University College of Medical Sciences (UCMS) and Lady Hardinge Medical College — covered under Delhi University Medical Entrance Test (DUMET) turned out to be a disappointing affair for several Other Backward Classes (OBC) candidates.
A DU notice dated June 20, 2008, had invited all OBC students from rank 1 to 100 for counselling on July 9. However, on Wednesday several candidates discovered that only female students were eligible for admission under this category as no seats have been reserved in Maulana Azad Medical College and University College of Medical Sciences for the new academic year. Lady Hardinge Medical College, which has kept aside 20 seats for this quota, is a women’s college.
The male candidates will now be called for counselling as per their combined rank, that is, they will have to compete in the general category.
The discontent among the male candidates was evident and it eventually erupted leading to temporary disruption in the counseling process. “My son’s rank in the OBC list was among the top 70 and now his rank in the general category is somewhere in 600s. He now has weak chances of making it to the two colleges,” said a parent.
Citing reasons for MAMC and UCMS not being able to reserve any seats for OBC candidates, Dean of Medical Sciences Usha Rusia said: “Lady Hardinge is a centrally run institution which doesn’t need Medical Council of India’s permission to increase seats for the OBC quota. Moreover, their increase is not equal to nine per cent of their total capacity but according to the college infrastructure. MAMC and UCMS are not central institutions and therefore require MCI’s permission, which was not granted this year.”