ANOTHER SET-BACK

Medical students in Jammu and Kashmir already faced delayed processes, shortage of seats and resources. The introduction of the AIQ this year was the final straw and led to protests.

- Atul Krishna

Anmol Palak, 25, has moved on. Palak, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, completed his MBBS degree in 2021, and chose to try his luck in the Public Service Commission (PSC) examinations instead of pursuing a postgraduate degree. Many of his friends who do want to stay in medicine, are considering moving abroad.

"I completed my internship in December last year. Now, I have cleared PSC to become a medical officer. It was my personal decision. I'm going to defer my postgraduate [studies] for at least two or three years... Many students I know are preparing for the UK or US, otherwise they are going to be trapped," said Palak.

Several reasons are behind these decisions, said students. Delays in exam processes have set students from the UT behind by a year; there's intense competition for just a handful of seats. To a system of admissions that was already harrowing in the case of Jammu and Kashmir, was added All India Quota (AIQ) from 2022. Students are preferring to move along rather than "waste" time trying to study medicine in Jammu and Kashmir.

All India Quota

With the announcement of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) PG merit list in mid-July, all medical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir came under AIQ.

This meant that 50 percent of postgraduate seats in the government medical colleges (GMCs) of Jammu and Srinagar and 100 percent of seats in the deemed university of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) were pooled under AIQ. The move invited protests across medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir.

With the abrogation of Article 370 and the loss of statehood for Jammu and Kashmir, pooling of the medical seats in the Union Territory into the All India Quota was inevitable. However, according to students, this was not a decision to be rushed.