PG candidates asked to join allotted seats in three days

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 20

After keeping the joining of around 500 MBBS and BDS doctors to their allotted medical and dental colleges for postgraduate (PG) courses under suspension for over two weeks, the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) on Friday asked all of them to join the allotted seats in three days.

The university also announced the schedule of the second round of counselling to fill all vacant seats of PG courses in the state.

All selected candidates will have join the allotted seats by April 23 and the second round of counselling would take place from April 24 to 26, said Dr Arvind Sharma, Registrar, BFUHS.

Earlier, on April 4, the BFUHS had put the joining of all candidates on hold. It had declined to issue the allotment letters to the candidates, who were allotted MD/MS/MDS seats in the first round of counselling.

The university had also postponed the second round of medical and dental counselling for an indefinite time after some candidates in government service in Punjab (PCMS) challenged the state government’s January 25 notification on fixing the eligibility criteria for PCMS doctors.

After these doctors challenged the notification in the High Court, the court on April 4 had issued the orders to keep the seat allotments in a sealed cover. The BFUHS was keeping the counselling under abeyance for the past two weeks.

Now after the High Court on Friday dismissed the petition of PCMS doctors, the BFUHS announced the dates of second round of counselling.

As the second round of counselling also hinges on the joining of the first round candidates, so it has now been fixed for April 24.

The PCMS doctors had challenged the January 25 notification about the eligibility criteria to get admission to PG courses for them.

As per the notification, a PCMS doctor must have completed four full years in a very difficult area or six years in a difficulty area or an appropriate combination of both to get an incentive of up to 30 per cent of marks in his score of the NEET-PG 2018 to get admission to PG course in Punjab. The incentive of marks is given at a rate of 10 per cent per year, maximum of three years.

The doctors with 2 years of service in PCMS challenged the notification, saying it is in conflict with the Regulations of Post Graduate Medical education.

Abhay Raj Singh, a doctor, claimed in the HC that he was eligible for an additional 20 per cent of marks scored by him in the NEET-PG examinations as he had served for 2 years in difficult and most difficult areas.