Govind Sharma
JAMMU, June 20: In a significant step, National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued Letter of Permission (LoP) restoring back 180 MBBS seats in favour of Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu which was penalized last year for fraudulently admitting 4 candidates in excess to allotted quota by deducting 8 seats.
Last year, the NMC had imposed a penalty on GMC Jammu by deducting 8 MBBS seats for the academic year 2023-2024. This step had reduced admission capacity of GMC Jammu to 172 from 180. NMC had taken this harsh step to penalize GMC Jammu for fraudulently admitting 4 candidates in excess to the quota of 180 allotted to GMC Jammu by the then GMC administration.
NMC had issued a letter (U-16028/01/2023 UGMEB)MC Cell) (Parl)/044533) dated 24-07-2023 to the GMC administration stating that 8 seats would be deducted from the total allotted quota of 180 seats for the academic year 2023-24. The Commission had also directed that the matter be investigated and responsibility on erring officials be fixed failing which the seat deduction would be applicable to the next academic year too.
However, taking the matter seriously and vigilantly, the new GMC administration headed by Prof Ashutosh Gupta, Principal & Dean, communicated repeatedly with NMC and has been successful in restoring back the MBBS seats to 180, thereby preventing a further loss of 8 seats for the current academic session.
“On the basis of the explanation submitted in writing and presented virtually before it, it has been decided to grant renewal of 180 MBBS seats for the year 2024-25 subject to fulfillment of all clauses mandated in NMC Act, 2019 and various other regulations notified from time to time,” NMC (Undergraduate Medical Education Board) said in a communiqué issued recently to GMC Jammu.
Also, GMC administration under Prof Ashutosh Gupta has been able to enhance 16 more MD seats to already allotted quota of 198 MD seats from the academic year 2024-25. This has been seen as a great step in improving medical education in Jammu region.
Further, the Department of Health & Medical Education had initiated an in depth inquiry to fix the responsibility on those erring officials who were responsible for fraudulently admitting excess candidates over and above the allotted quota but the findings of the inquiry are still awaited.
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