By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Oct 3: The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) on Friday demanded that the state government rectify discrepancies in the allotment of MBBS seats from the central pool under the state quota.
The KSU called for the scrapping of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for seat allotment and for removing the Scheduled Caste (SC) category from the list of categories, since it does not exist under the State Reservation Policy of 1972.
The student organisation further demanded that the Health Department rectify the allocation of seats under the state quota for Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Bachelor of Physiotherapy, Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery, and Bachelor of Homeopathy Medicine and Surgery.
KSU general secretary Donald V Thabah told reporters that the union, at its meeting with Health Minister Wailadmiki Shylla next Monday, would impress upon the state government to immediately correct the discrepancies.
“We do not know whether this is due to incompetence of health officials or a deliberate blunder. But we are firm in our stand that the irregularities detected must be rectified at any cost,” Thabah said.
Questioning the SOPs, KSU assistant general secretary Reuben Najiar said it was unacceptable to allow students the option of choosing between the Open Category and the Khasi–Jaintia Category.
According to him, students will always opt for the Khasi–Jaintia category which has 40% reservation, rather than the Open Category that has only 15% reservation.
“Seat allocation should be strictly merit-based on NEET scores. Khasi–Jaintia students with higher marks should be placed under the Open Category. What the department has done by giving students this option is illegal. We will not accept SOPs that go against the interests of local indigenous students,” Najiar said, adding that the KSU will demand the SOPs to be scrapped.
Highlighting the irregularities in MBBS seat allotment, Thabah pointed out that 14 candidates were listed under the Open Category, but anomalies were detected.
For instance, while Diya Ghosh (NEET score 462) and Tanushka Chakraborty (442) were included in the Open Category list, Rikor Nongkynrih, the top candidate under the Khasi–Jaintia Category with 475 marks, was not migrated to the Open Category despite scoring higher.
Thabah explained that Nongkynrih should have been placed at Serial No 13, replacing Diya, while Tanushka, with only 442 marks, was not even eligible to be on the merit list.
Citing another example, Thabah noted that the last student in the Khasi–Jaintia Category had 443 marks which is still higher than Tanushka’s 442.
The KSU general secretary further stated that Khasi–Jaintia students on the waiting list for the Open Category are eligible for inclusion in the Khasi–Jaintia Category — a system followed in the past.
“This clearly reflects serious anomalies on the part of the Health Department. It may have been done intentionally to serve someone’s interest,” he alleged.
The KSU, however, maintained that it will not allow such irregularities which deny deserving Khasi–Jaintia students the opportunity to pursue MBBS — whether under the Open or Khasi–Jaintia category.
Following opposition from the KSU, the Health Department has now put on hold the acceptance of nominations of selected MBBS candidates.
“We want the state government to immediately rectify the list. We would like to clarify that we are not against anyone, but we are against the process of allotment. This shows the state government is not acting in the interest of local students, and that is unacceptable,” Thabah added.
