Medical college students’ agitation intensifies in Odisha

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Nov 26, 2015 at 11:22 PM Updated On : Nov 26, 2015 at 11:29 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Nov 26:

The controversy over proposed admission of students from Jaring based Sardar Rajas Medical College into other medical colleges of the state today got murkier with Hi Tech Medical College students joining in demanding re-counselling and SCB student bodies supporting the stir by students of MKCG and VIMSAR.

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Five students of all three government medical colleges of the state today moved Odisha High Court through an intervening petition seeking to make them a party in the case. The students have wanted to know how their colleges would be able to accommodate additional students if MCI didn’t allow additional seats citing lack of infrastructure. Besides, they have cited that the students of Sardar Rajas College have lower AIPMT rank as compared to MKCG and VIMSAR and getting those students into government colleges would be an injustice to the latter.

Apart from the legal route, the protests by the students at their campuses were also intensified today. The students of VIMSAR in Burla, who had been bunking classes in protest, today took out a massive rally. The students of MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur also continued their agitation on the third consecutive day. The students of private medical college-Hi-Tech also joined the bandwagon as they took out a rally near Master Canteen square of Bhubaneswar today.

The government medical college students have been citing lack of infrastructure, faculties and other facilities to accommodate additional students from Sardar Rajas College. Similarly, the hi-tech students demanded re-counselling as some of them are hopeful of a seat in a government college should there be a reshuffle based on rank.

Notably, Odisha Government had also been endorsing the rank factor and had expressed its inability to accommodate Sardar Rajas students elsewhere before the High Court made it mandatory for it to shift the students. In a meeting convened by the Union Health ministry at New Delhi on November 9, the government had explained that the students of Sardar Rajas College don’t fulfill the eligibility criteria as per AIPMT rankings to get admission into government run medical colleges.

As per the verdict of the High Court on November 18, while the students of government quota were supposed to be moved to government run medical colleges, the management quota students were supposed to be shifted to private medical colleges. Besides, the court had asked the government to complete the admission process within two weeks from the date of order.