Will intensify the protest if justice is not served, says medical students protesting against SEBC reservation
Over 500 students belonging to general category, their parent and the private practitioners, gathered at Samvidhan square to protest against the Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) Reservation Act, 2018, as well as the decision taken by Maharashtra government on May 17 that gave nod for the admissions of 253 postgraduate medical and dental courses under the Maratha quota. While the general category students were against it, the Marathas were in support of it. During the protest, the general category students argued that admission should be on the basis of merit not quota. They said if the quota is removed, these students won’t be able to get admission on merit.
On the other hand 253 Maratha students who got seats under the quota say they will lose a year if they don’t get admissions this year. It is pertinent to note that the move came as PG students had been sitting on a dharna at Azad Maidan for nearly two weeks. The Maharashtra government had given 16 per cent reservation to Marathas which was struck down by a Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court. The Maharashtra government on Friday brought an amendment in section 16 (2) of the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act to reinstate admissions that were granted under state quota for Marathas. To this senior doctor Sanjay Deshpande, who also joined the protest, said, that it’s high time the reservation should be restricted. “This is the scenario of every course. Not just the medical profession is affected by it, but the entire education system has been ruined due to reservation.” ‘Save merit, save nation’, is the only way to end this, says Dr Deshpande.
The students and doctors at the protest claimed that when there was already 52 per cent reservation, then including two more categories into reservation was injustice. Noted that SEBC has given 16 per cent reservation, whereas, economically backward section has been given 10 per cent reservation. The condition could be understood by the fact that there is no seat at all, in three clinical departments at Government Medical College and Hospital as well as six clinical departments at Mayo. It is the case when 2024 students who cleared PG out of 3913 students were from general category, this year.
Noted, that at the ENT, Orthopedic, and Biochemistry department, there is no seat at GMCH for the general category students. Whereas, at Mayo Hospital, ENT, Orthopedic, pediatric, Radiology, TB chest, Biochemistry departments have no seats.
It may be recalled that Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao on Monday signed an ordinance to provide quota under Socially and Economically Backward Class (SEBC) Reservation Act, 2018 to candidates seeking admission to post-graduate medical and dental courses.
