The central government on Thursday introduced a new reservation policy for admission to medical colleges under various state governments. Now, students from one state could be admitted to medical schools in other states through an All India Quota (AIQ).
Have the students not already been admitted to medical schools in other countries?
Yes, they were admitted to medical schools in other states but they were treated as “general” students by the state government under which the said medical schools were located.
Each state government has its own quota list.
Now there will be a separate quota for students based on the central list and belonging to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) at medical colleges across the country.
How will the new quota system work?
The central government announced a reservation of 27 percent of the seats for the OBCs and 10 percent for the EWS Medical college students.
1. The classification of students in OBC and EWS is decided on the basis of the central lists for the categories mentioned.
2. The new quota structure applies to both undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) courses at medical universities.
Is this AIQ a new guideline?
Not really. The AIQ is actually a 35 year old quota structure. It was created in 1986 by order of the Supreme Court.
1. The AIQ enables students from one state to apply to a medical school in another state without residence restrictions.
2. Such approvals are based on merit and the AIQ.
Under the AIQ agreement, 15 percent of the seats for undergraduate students and 50 percent for graduate students in the states are filled by the central government quota.
3. The AIQ does not change the residency requirements for filling the remaining 85 percent of undergraduate and 50 percent of doctoral positions at medical schools in any state. These places are reserved exclusively for students residing in the domicile.
How was the arrangement so far?
In 2007 the The Supreme Court introduced a 15 percent quota for planned castes (Dalits) and 7.5 percent for planned tribes under the AIQ scheme.
1. The law on central educational institutions (admission reservation) came into force in 2007.
2. The law provided for a uniform reservation of 27 percent against OBC students in all educational institutions of the central government.
This law did not provide for seat reservations for OBC or EWS students at state medical colleges under the AIQ program.
The announcement of a new quota regulation by the central government closes this gap.
Why now?
The timing of the announcement of the new AIQ scheme can have several reasons by the central government.
1. On July 27 last year, the Madras Supreme Court ordered the central government to implement the AIQ program in all medical schools in its current session.
2. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) – the ruling party in Tamil Nadu – alleged deliberately delayed implementation of the Madras Supreme Court order and recently filed a petition for contempt against the central government.
3. On July 26, the central government informed the Madras Supreme Court that their order would be implemented in a week. On the same day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting to review the progress of OBC and EWS reservations in colleges.
Is there also a UP dial-up connection?
Many linked this move with the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, which are due in about six months. The central government’s AIQ decision came a day before Prime Minister Modi planned to inaugurate nine medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh.
1. Incidentally, the OBCs make up an estimated 54-55 percent of Uttar Pradesh’s population who belong to both Hindu and Muslim religious groups.
2. The OBCs make up about 41-42 percent of the Hindu and 12-13 percent of the Muslim population in Uttar Pradesh.
What happened to the mandal quota?
The quota of jobs and educational institutions introduced by the Mandal Commission Report is still in force. It provides for the reservation in workplaces and educational institutions of the central government.
The state governments have also implemented the same program. Some states, for example Tamil Nadu, have made reservations beyond the limits recommended by the Mandal Commission. But all of these state quota regimes work on a residency basis.
The AIQ program is for students seeking admission to prestigious colleges in states other than their place of residence.
How will the new AIQ program benefit OBC and EWS students?
According to the central government, the total number of seats in medical colleges is 84,649 for the undergraduate degree and 54,275 for the postgraduate degree.
1. Around 1,500 OBC students are expected to receive admission benefits in the MBBS degree and 2,500 in the postgraduate degree under the new AIQ program.
2. The number of EWS students is estimated at 500 in the MBBS course and 1,000 in the postgraduate course.
In total, an estimated 5,500 students would receive the benefits under the new AIQ program, the government said.
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