Port Blair, Jul 10: Referring to his recent meeting with the Union Home Minister, Mr. Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mr Kuldeep Rai Sharma, the President of Pradesh Congress Committee today reiterated his demands for enhancing the quota of MBBS seats from 15 numbers to 40 numbers for Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Mr. Sharma in his letter has informed that out of 400 Schools of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an average 7500 students clears class XII and due to scarcity of allotted quota of MBBS seats many meritorious students are not considered for those 15 seats who have desire to serve the islands as qualified doctors.
Mr. Sharma has also requested to release the enhanced quota at an early date as the counseling of already allotted 15 seats of MBBS will shortly be started by the Andaman and Nicobar Administration.
In his letter, quoting Mr. Ghulam Navi Azad, Minister of Health’s proposal for increase of MBBS seats in the Country by allowing government and recognized private medical colleges to do so as one-time measure and accordingly all medical colleges having 10 years or more of standing have been allowed to increase 50 seats as a onetime measure, Mr. Sharma stated that as per this proposal, total 18,450 MBBS seats will be made available in the 369 Govt. Medical colleges of mainland which exclude other such private Medical colleges. Accordingly Mr. Sharma once again requested the Home Minister to consider his proposal of enhancing quota of 40 numbers of MBBS seats from the already allotted 15 numbers seats to the Andaman and Nicobar Administration for these islands as a welfare measure for the students of these islands considering remoteness and the constraints associated with it.
In another correspondence, while recording the Party’s gratitude for increasing a good number of MBBS seats in all the medical colleges of mainland having 10 years or more of standing time, Mr. Sharma wrote to the Health Minister Mr. Ghulam Navi Azad that due to non availability of a Medical College in these Islands, the Andaman and Niocbar Administration depends upon the quota of MBBS seats from the Central and State quota for allotment of those seats to our meritorious students who want to get admission in MBBS course.
Mr. Sharma has further stated that, most of such meritorious students come from middle and lower middle class families and can’t afford to get a seat of their own accord at mainland basesd Universities/ Colleges and with the allotted 15 numbers of MBBS seats from the Central and State quotas, many such students even securing excellent marks in the Class XII examination don’t get chance and become frustrated as their desire to serve the Islands as Doctors go in vain.
Recording the Party’s sincere gratitude towards his proposed increase of MBBS seats in the Country, Mr. Sharma has earnestly requested the Honble Minister to consider enhancement of the allotted quota of 15 MBBS seats to 40 such seats considering the remoteness and other constraints of the place and also for uplifting the highly meritorious poor students of these islands. Mr. Sharma has also forwarded the copy of both the letters to the Lt Governor and earnestly requested him for taking up the burning issue of scarcity of MBBS quota with the concerned Ministries for the welfare of the students of these islands.
