Delhi HC asks Army College of Medical Sciences to leave 21 out of its 100 seats for students who qualified CET
Delhi HC asks Army College of Medical Sciences to leave 21 out of its 100 seats for students who qualified CET
NEW DELHI: Here is a bit of good news for medical aspirants. Children of civilians can now also study in armed forces medical colleges set up exclusively for the children of army personnel.
The Delhi high court on Friday passed an order asking the Army College of Medical Sciences (ACMS), Delhi Cantonment, to leave 21 out of 100 seats for general category students who qualified the Combined Entrance Test (CET). The CET was conducted by Delhi’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University to which ACMS is affiliated.
ACMS is run through army welfare funds and is exclusively for the wards of serving army, ex-army personnel and war widows. There are about 12 professional colleges, including engineering, run by the army. The ACMS is different from the Armed Forces Medical College , Pune, which takes civilians after an all-India entrance examination.
Once they complete AFMC, the MBBS students become army doctors. However, ACMS is like any other medical college and the students are under no compulsion to join the army.
The HC observed that many seats in ACMS remained unfilled since very few candidates who were wards of defence personnel had qualified for admission in the institute. On the other hand, a large number of general students had secured higher marks in CET than those who were given admission for being wards of army/ex-army personnel or war widows. The court observed that it was unfair of the ACMS to not open its unfilled seats to general students.
The court did not accept the ACMS’s argument that the institute was set up mainly for the children of army personnel and that being an unaided professional institution it had the right to maintain autonomy in its administration.
“Every such seat is highly precious since a large number of meritorious candidates are desirous of, and waiting to get admission. Each such seat is a national asset and it would not be desirable not to let them same go waste. A seat left unfilled in any academic session remains vacant till the end of the course and the period of the MBBS course is nearly 5 years,” judge Vipil Sanghi said in his order.
He further ordered that reservation of seats for the wards of army/ex-army personnel and war widows in ACMS could be to the extent of 79 out of 100 and the remaining 21% seats should be filled in by general category candidates on the basis of merit.
The institute was asked to issue public notices in dailies asking successful candidates to appear for counselling on Monday (September 29, 2008) and accept fees of general students by September 30, 2008, so that they can join the classes at the earliest.
b_rakesh@dnaindia.net
p_vineeta@dnaindia.net
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}