However, the notification was issued on August 22, stipulating that sports performance of students for academic classes of XI and XII would be taken into consideration. (Representational image)Aspirants seeking admission in MBBS and BDS courses under sports quota in medical colleges of Punjab stare at not being considered in the reserved category due to Covid-19. As per the August 22 notification by the Punjab Medical Education and Research Department for admission to MBBS/BDS courses in medical and dental institutes for the session beginning 2022, the sportspersons in the quota reserved for them would be given credit for admission only for the sports achievements made during class XI, XII.
The clause, though not new as it was there in earlier notifications also, largely makes majority of the sportspersons ineligible to avail the admission under the quota because of restrictions during the pandemic in academic years 2020-21 and 2021-22, when no major sports tournaments were held, particularly by state’s education or sports departments, and School Games Federation of India.
Before the notification was issued by the Punjab government and over a month before NEET results were declared earlier this month, a Bathinda resident Gurmeet Singh Brar had written to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) vice chancellor suggesting relaxation in clause which stipulated considering sports performance during classes XI and XII and, rather consider the sports achievements of students in classes IX and X while admitting aspirants under the sports quota as “neither Punjab School Education department nor, at national level, School Games Federation of India conducted any sports tournaments for two years during the Covid pandemic”.
However, the notification was issued on August 22, stipulating that sports performance of students for academic classes of XI and XII would be taken into consideration. On the same day, BFUHS registrar Dr Nirmal Ouseppachan, while pointing out in letter to the DMRE Punjab that the department (DRME) “is in process to issue notification for admission to MBBS/BDS courses, session 2022-23”, referred to the representation made by Brar and wrote that contents of the representation were “self explanatory” and that “representation is being sent to your office for further necessary action at your end.”
Dr Nirmal, when contacted on phone, said, “The decision has to be taken by the sports department. We are taking up the matter with the sports department. This is a policy decision. We are just a recruiting (admission) authority. We just follow the directions of the Punjab government. We have not started the counseling process. We are raising the question that people have this problem that there have been very less competitions between 2020 and 2022. Which [assessment] years they consider is up to them. There is ample time for the sports department to take a call on this as we have not started the admission portal yet.”
Punjab sports department secretary Raj Kamal Chaudhary said as much, “We will take a decision which is in the best of the interests of the students.”
As per the notification, there is one percent quota for sports persons. There are around 2600 seats of MBBS/BDS in medical colleges in Punjab, including four medical colleges, each located in Amritsar, Faridkot, Patiala and Mohali. Gurkeerat Kaur, daughter of Gurmeet Brar, had won national silver medal in sub junior fencing championship when she was studying in IX class during 2018-19 academic session. She won gold in under-17 category in fencing in 2019-20 when she was in class X.
Brar, who is a lecturer (commerce) at Government Senior Secondary School Mehma Sarja in Bathinda district also wrote to Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Medical Education and Research minister Chetan Singh Jauramajra and Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer to press for relaxation in the clause and give weightage to performance of sportspersons in earlier academic classes, prior to Covid pandemic.