Medical education: Gujarat govt merges NRI seats with management quota

The new decision has been taken after the state government recently decided to scrap 15 per cent NRI quota from state self-financed medical institutes.

After the scrapping of the NRI quota, an NRI wishing admission in state’s self-financed medical colleges, would have to clear Class XII examinations from a school in Gujarat, as per the rules to be enforced, said an official in the Admission Committee for Professional and Medical Education courses (ACPMEC).

The new decision has been taken after the state government recently decided to scrap 15 per cent NRI quota from state self-financed medical institutes. NRI quota which applied only to private colleges saw a much higher fee rate charged from students, who also paid in foreign currency. There is no NRI quota in state’s government medical colleges.

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Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Pragnesh Shah, member-secretary of the ACPMEC said that NRI quota seats would now be merged with the 10 per cent of management quota seats, thus raising the management quota to 25 per cent. All these seats would now be available to local students only.

“The state government’s move would now make more seats available to local students in state medical colleges,” said Dr Shah. Dr Shah said that besides passing the Class XII examinations from a school in the state, NRIs would also have to clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) like any other student.

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Sources in the state government said that overseas Gujaratis were not benefitting from the NRI quota. According to a highly placed official connected with medical admissions, 30 per cent of NRI seats went to those settled abroad permanently but only a few were of Gujarati origin.

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With this decision, the management quota seats available this year in Gujarat’s 14 self-financed medical institutes would be 500 as the total number of seats in these institutions are 2,000. There are no NRI quota seats in six government-run medical colleges where the total number of seats are 1,080.

According to Dr Shah, 75 per cent of medical seats in SFIs this year would be filled through the Gujarat Common entrance Test (GujCET) and 25 per cent of management quota seats through NEET. In government-run medical colleges, 85 per cent of seats would be filled up by students from Gujarat through GujCET and remaining 15 per cent from candidates from all over the country through NEET.

From the next year, the entire seats would be filled up through NEET as per Supreme Court orders.

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