Karnataka govt. wants deemed universities to reserve 50 pc medical seats for domicile students

The Karnataka state government wants deemed universities in Karnataka to reserve at least 50 per cent of medical and dental seats for Karnataka domicile students in the upcoming academic year.

Medical Education Minister DK Shivakumar confirmed that the state government held a meeting with representatives of deemed universities in Karnataka on Wednesday. "In the meeting held with the representatives of deemed universities, it was decided that we will write to the Centre, asking them to reserve 50% of the medical seats in deemed universities for students from Karnataka. The letter will be sent today. Students from other states come here and study and then they go back to their states. We must give priority to students from Karnataka," DK Shivakumar said.

However, nine medical colleges in eight deemed universities which hold 1,630 medical and 630 dental seats, have asked for the matter to be discussed by the Director General for Health Services (DGHS) since the central government agency is the authority regarding seat allocations. Colleges in the state offering medical and dental courses include Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Kasturba Medical College, Mangaluru, JSS Medical College,

Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sri BM Patil Medical College, KS Hegde Medical Academy, Yenepoya Medical College, Sri Siddartha Medical College and Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College.

Shivakumar confirmed that of the eight deemed medical universities in Karnataka, six universities agreed with the suggestion while two universities remained opposed. He declined to name the universitites opposed to the move but expressed confidence that the state government would be able to convince them.

Shivakumar reiterated that the state government will continue efforts to bring in the rule before the start of the 2018-19 academic year. He also indicated that the government will consider approaching the judiciary to ensure that  50% of seats in medical colleges are reserved for people from Karnataka.

However, the new rule that Karnataka wants to implement will be challenged in court. In March 2018, the SC had declared invalid Karnataka’s condition that those applying for post-graduate government quota seats in medical and dental colleges should have been residing in the state for a mininum ten years.