Outsiders could soon apply to J&K medical colleges under NEET and students are worried

J&K medical colleges are currently reserved for local students but this could change with the state’s recharacterisation as a union territory.

File photo of college students in Rajouri, Jammu & Kashmir | Representational image | ANI

New Delhi/Srinagar: Medical seats in Jammu & Kashmir colleges, thus far restricted to local students, could soon be open to applicants from the rest of the country via the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET).

It all depends on whether Jammu & Kashmir, which was categorised a union territory in October, agrees to adopt the 15 per cent All India Quota each medical college has for students from outside a certain state/union territory. 

While it was a state, 100 per cent of Jammu & Kashmir’s seats were reserved for local students.

The Ministry of Health has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs, asking whether J&K will participate in the All India Quota now that its special status is gone. 

The union territory is, however, yet to take a decision since the body that oversees professional entrance exams in J&K — the Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) — is being reconstituted.

The proposed change, meanwhile, is making residents in Jammu & Kashmir anxious amid larger worries that the scrapping of Article 370 and Article 35A — a decision that stripped J&K of its special status — will fuel a surge of outsiders into the union territory.

However, students and parents told ThePrint that despite their concerns about possible changes in reservation norms, their current focus was on getting their forms filled up, which is turning out to be a struggle amid the ongoing internet shutdown.

Medical education and states

There are a number of top government medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir, including the Government Medical College and Sher-i-Kashmir-Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) in Srinagar and the Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOM) and the Government Medical College in Jammu.

Under the framework for NEET, which oversees admissions to medical colleges across India, each state reserves the right to enrolment for 85 per cent of seats, with preference given to local residents. For example, in Gujarat colleges, the state government will decide the specifics for admissions to 85 per cent of seats.

Admissions to the remaining 15 per cent are conducted by the central government and constitute the All India Quota. 

So far, Jammu & Kashmir has retained these 15 per cent of seats for its own students. Additionally, a local student looking for admissions outside J&K can’t claim seats under the additional 15 per cent quota.

However, the situation might change as J&K no longer enjoys the special status it was accorded during accession in 1948.

Former BOPEE chairman Ashraf Bukhari said no decision had been taken on changed quota norms until his retirement around two weeks ago.

“The body is being reconstituted as of now and it is expected that the new management will take a decision,” he added.

J&K spokesperson Rohit Kansal could not be reached for a comment.

The application process for NEET 2020 began earlier this month, with the exam scheduled for May next year.

Kashmiris worried

Although yet to be finalised, talk of the change has medical aspirants and their relatives worried.

“Earlier, J&K had the 15 per cent of seats for itself. Now, after J&K’s bifurcation into union territories, it is not clear whether it will have that reservation or not,” said Dr Sahil Nazir, whose niece is preparing for NEET this year.

“If not, the competition would essentially open up to non-local NEET aspirants, who will stake claim to the reservation,” he added.  

Srinagar-based educationalist G.N. Var, who heads the Private Schools Association of Jammu and Kashmir (PSAJK), an organisation representing private institutes, said the UT administration must bring clarity on whether J&K will continue to have the additional quota.

Some Kashmiri parents, however, were more worried about the ongoing internet shutdown to weigh in on the quota. As of 5 December, Kashmir had spent four months without internet.

“The first problem is non-availability of internet. My daughter had to travel all the way to Jammu to fill her application,” said Iqhfaq Mohammad, a Srinagar-based parent.

“NEET aspirants and their parents are more concerned about filling up the form first. Then only can they have the privilege of exploring the supposed changes in guidelines. People are desperate without internet and the uncertainty over reservation is making it worse,” he added. 

“We have been hearing about the changes in reservation norms. And there are concerns,” said Aarish Gulzar, an aspiring doctor from Baramulla. “But, honestly, our only priority right now is to fill the form.”

“All our energies right now are getting consumed in the battle to get internet.”