‘Securing medical seat no longer easy even with quota’

SHILLONG: Securing a medical seat through reservation is not as easy as it used to be a decade ago.
Stating this after inaugurating the dialysis unit at Shillong Civil Hospital on Friday,  Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said while there were not enough people to fill up the quota seats in the past, the situation has undergone a sea change now with aspirants struggling to make the cut.
“We don’t have dearth of competent youth who want to become doctors but we can’t give them enough seats,” Sangma said while lamenting that the 300 nurses’ posts sanctioned by the government years ago was yet to be filled up.
The nurses’ posts have been left unfilled due to an ongoing litigation.
“These posts were created to serve the people and not for the job seekers alone. There is a fight among our people because of the job spaces… This is where we are going wrong and I am pained to see this,” Sangma said while hinting towards the litigation part.
He said that for those working in hospitals, serving the people should be the first priority but observed that unfortunately it all boils down to securing a job instead.
“How many of you would have been able to become doctors if there was no quota and how many of the nurses would have had the capacity to become nurses if all those who got through the quota of the state were not able to have the privilege,” he questioned.