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Amid MBBS seat crunch in Marathwada, Latur GMCH further loses 100 seats

Aurangabad: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has slashed the intake capacity of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Latur by 50 seats and also froze the proposed additional intake of 50 seats as advocated by the state government for the state-run hospitals in Maharashtra.

The move comes amidst clamour over the objectionable 70:30 regional quota and alleged excess reservation.

The apex national-level regulatory body has come to a decision that a range of non-compliances norms have been laid down pertaining to the infrastructure, staff, and inflow in the Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) among other parameters.

Confirming the same, dean of GMCH Latur, Shrikant Gore on Tuesday, said that the intake capacity for MBBS admission for his institution has come down to 100 from 150, whereas the proposal sent for increasing the intake by 50 seats towards EWS quota was also kept on hold.

The development has surprised students and parents from the Marathwada region, many of whom claim to be already at the receiving end of the regional quota in MBBS admission. They further alleged excess reservation towards the newly introduced 13 percent reservation for the Maratha community and 10 percent for the Economically Backward Section (EWS).

Aarti Rajhans, a parent from Aurangabad whose daughter is preparing for NEET in order to seek admission for MBBS, said the reduced intake of seats for GMCH Latur was a major loss for aspirants of medical courses. “The already stiff competition for MBBS admissions has further become cut-throat due to different quotas. The state-run medical college at Latur has effectively lost 100 seats, which indeed is a big loss for aspirants,” she said.

The state of Maharashtra witnesses’ admissions to MBBS courses based on three regions, namely Marathwada, Vidarbha, and rest of Maharashtra. Every region must reserve 15% quota for all-India students. While the remaining 85% seats have 70% reserved quota for students from that region. The remaining 30% is kept aside for students from other regions.

With less number of medical colleges in Marathwada as compared to two other demarcated regions, is already a reason to worry for students and parents from the region. The loss of seats at GMCH Latur has spread major unrest among major stakeholders. The exact number of MBBS seats in state-run medical colleges in Marathwada cannot be ascertained as a blanket increase in colleges across the state.

While relatively lesser number of medical colleges in Marathwada and their cumulative intake in turn, as compared to two other demarcated regions, is already a reason to worry for students and parents from Marathwada, the loss of seats at GMCH Latur has spread major unrest among these major stakeholders. The exact number of MBBS seats in state-run medical colleges in Marathwada could not be ascertained in the wake of recent almost blanket increase in MBBS seats in colleges across Maharashtra.

When asked about the non-compliances pointed out by MCI in the functioning of GMCH Latur, Gore said the institution does not have the desired hostel facility for intern students that was counted as an infrastructural deficiency. “The MCI also observed dearth of staff and inadequate inflow in OPD. However, these non-compliances are not major in nature as the MCI authorities misconstrued some facts while noting down related observations. Our average inflow in OPD is in the range of 1,200 and 1,300 as against 1,260 recorded by MCI. According to MCI, the staff strength was short by 20%, which is not the case as attendance of some faculties could not get registered on the day of the visit of concerned authorities,” he said.

The dean added that administrative clearance for the construction of necessary building has been just received from the government.

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