Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 13: Doctors in Kashmir continue to protest against the reduction of NEET-PG seats, demanding the restoration of SRO 49, the cancellation of Rule 17, and the implementation of a bond policy for the All India Quota to ensure justice for Open Merit students.
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Following protests at GMC Srinagar and SKIMS Medical College Bemina, medical students at GMC Baramulla today staged a protest, calling the current policy unjust for Open Merit students.
Scores of students gathered on the GMC Baramulla campus, holding placards denouncing Rule 17 and demanding the restoration of SRO 49 and the implementation of a bond policy.
“Providing reservations in specialized courses, despite the same resources and facilities, makes no sense. Currently, only 26.6% of seats are allocated to Open Merit students, which is negligible,” said Sabir, one of the MBBS students.
He cited the example of an Open Merit student who secured an All India Rank of 700, compared to a reserved category student with an All India Rank of around 80,000.
“The category student secured a seat in MD Radiology, while the Open Merit student was left with a non-clinical branch. This is sheer injustice to deserving and hardworking students,” he added.
The students stressed that the current policy would ultimately harm the healthcare system, stating, “Deserving candidates are not getting what they should have.”
They emphasized the importance of merit in specialty courses like MD/MS, arguing that these fields require high levels of competence to ensure quality healthcare.
They noted that all MBBS students study under similar conditions, access the same resources, and are assessed equally, making merit-based selection a fair criterion.
According to the protesting students, under SRO 49, 75% of seats were allocated to Open Merit students, while 25% were reserved for category students.
“For specialized courses, where high levels of skill and ability are crucial, the reservation percentage should be minimal which was ensured under SRO 49,” Muqeet, another student said.
The students claim that recent policy changes, including the implementation of SO 176 in March this year and SO 305 in May this year, have severely impacted merit-based admissions.
Under Rule 17, if a reserved category student upgrades to GMC Srinagar from GMC Baramulla, the vacant seat at Baramulla remains available only to category students. “We demand the cancellation of this rule to ensure Open Merit students can compete for these seats,” one student said.
Another student, Sadia, from GMC Baramulla clarified that they are not against the reservation policy but stressed the need for rationalization based on population ratios. “It has to be based on justice,” she said.
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