Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court sent notices to the state government and other parties following a petition filed over the maintainability of 5% quota for persons with disabilities (PWD) in self-financed medical colleges run by the Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society (GMERS). Additionally, the plea asked that the pwd be admitted to the medical college closest to their residence.
The petition by medical aspirant Karishma Khubchandani raised a grievance that except the six Government Medical Colleges in Gujarat, the eight GMERS colleges were being treated as self-financed colleges though they operated using government funds. The government grants are shown as loans by these colleges. GMERS was set up to ensure Gujarat-based students need not go outside the state to pursue medical courses.
The plea said the eight GMERS colleges, as also the NHL (Ahmedabad), LG (Ahmedabad) and SMIMER (Surat) that are now run by government trusts, and 15 other self-financed colleges were denying PwD the benefit of 5% reservation which is unfair.
It may be noted that as per Colleges or Institution (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) Act, 2007, the 8 GMERS and three government trust operated medical colleges should be considered as government-aided colleges to extend the benefit of quota to the PwD.
The plea said denial of quota in medical courses in government colleges is discriminatory as engineering, pharmacy and architecture colleges do provide 5% reservation irrespective of whether they are government-funded, grant-in-aid (partly government-funded) or self-financed.
The plea said due to the discrimination the petitioner, who is awaiting results for the NEET (UG), would be deprived of admission in the GMERS or other self-financed medical colleges. The next hearing of the matter will be conducted on October 27.
