BOPEE confuses candidates
Nishikant Khajuria
JAMMU, Sept 20: Notwithstanding the issuance of SRO for reservation under the Economically Weaker Section category, conditions and confusion over obtaining fresh EWS certificate for MBBS/BDS admission quota in Jammu and Kashmir has put future of thousands of eligible candidates at stake.
While the eligible and desirous candidates, who have qualified NEET 2019 and fall within the Economically Weaker Section category, have been asked to get their certificates prepared in accordance with the SRO 518, there is no clarity on the newly issued said SRO, copy of which has been neither uploaded on the official website nor circulated among the authorities designated for issuing the required certificate.
In absence of clarity on the documents required for the eligibility under SRO 518, the concerned designated authorities are not issuing the EWS certificate to the candidates, who are running from pillar to post for obtaining the necessary certificate.
Pertinent to mention here that the SRO 518 of 2019, dated 02-09-2019, notified by the State Government for reservation to Economically Weaker Sections in Jammu and Kashmir, shall come into force with effect from November 1, 2019. For this quota, which is over and above the existing reservation, the intake capacity of the three Government Medical Colleges (Jammu/Srinagar/SKIMS) and two Government Dental Colleges in J&K has been increased by 85 and 26 seats, respectively.
For filling up of these seats, the J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE) recently notified that the eligible and desirous candidates, who have qualified NEET 2019 and fall within the Economically Weaker Sections, may have their certificates prepared in accordance with the SRO 518, which can be issued by the authorities prescribed in the said SRO. The candidates shall have to produce the necessary documents as prescribed in this regard for obtaining the certificate.
Further, the BOPEE makes it clear that the candidates who have obtained EWS certificates earlier, prior to the issuance of the SRO and before its commencement, shall have to necessarily obtain a fresh certificate in terms of the SRO 518. The certificates issued prior to the issuance of SRO 518 shall not be treated as valid as the said SRO shall come into force with effect from November 1, 2019, reads the notice number 90-BOPEE of 2019, dated 11-09-2019.
As the additional MBBS and BDS seats shall be filled up in the month of November 2019 after counseling by BOPEE for the same, the eligible candidates are rushing to obtain the new EWS certificate but for no avail because of no clarity on SRO 518, which has been neither uploaded on the official website nor circulated among the authorities designated for issuing the certificate.
“We have been running from pillar to post for getting the new EWS certificate but the designated authorities are not issuing the same on the ground that how a certificate could be issued in accordance with an SRO, which has not yet come into force and is still to be revealed,” said the aggrieved candidates and also questioned the rationale behind seeking fresh EWS certificate from those who had already deposited the same two months back during earlier counseling.
The logic of these candidates was also endorsed by a senior Government officer, designated for issuance of the EWS certificate, who explained that the authorities have to go by the already established eligibility parameters for the Economically Weaker Section category, irrespective of the purpose for obtaining the document and hence there should be no need of seeking fresh certificate specifically under SRO 518, which has yet to come into force.
When contacted, Chairman BOPEE, Altaf Bukhari sought to clarify that seeking fresh EWS certificate in accordance with SRO 518 was a necessity because of certain documents required for obtaining the certificate. “Even as the SRO 518 shall come into force with effect from November 1, 2019, the candidates should preferably get the new EWS certificates issued by next month for avoiding delay in submission of the document,” he added.
Regarding non-availability of either soft or hard copy of the SRO 518 with the authorities designated for issuance of EWS certificate, the BOPEE Chairman said that it was the responsibility of Social Welfare Department to upload the SRO on official website besides circulating its hard copies among the different departments.
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