A private college in Karnataka has appealed to the government for a new ‘special free of cost admission reservation policy (SFCARP),’ under which students will be given free medical education on condition that they work for five years at the same institute after completion of the course.
The Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SMSIMSR) of Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Chickballapur district, has decided to offer free medical education to both 40% government quota seats and 60% for management seats.
The SMSIMSR has requested the State government that the 40% government quota seats be reserved for Karnataka students, including students who have studied the qualifying examination from the educational institutions of the Sri Satya Sai University for Human Excellence or the sponsoring body through SFCARP.
The proposal was submitted to the government in the academic year of 2022-23. However, as it was a policy matter and had legal hurdles, then BJP government set it aside.
Recently, T.B. Jayachandra, Congress MLA from Sira constituency, who is a member of the advisory board, Sri Satya Sai University for Human Excellence, raised the issue in the Assembly. Many Congress and BJP MLAs supported the proposal.
The SMSIMSR was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 25, 2023. The National Medical Commission (NMC) had permitted it to start the MBBS programme with 100 seats for the academic year of 2023-24. However, the SMSIMSR has limited this number to 50 this year.
Among these 50 seats, a total of 20 seats (40%) belongs to government quota and 30 (60%) are management quota seats.
The SMSIMSR has decided reserve 35% of the management quota seats (18) for students from rural educational institutions run by the university or the sponsoring body or the sister concerns of the foundation, 10% of seats (5) for the children of staff and 15% of seats (7) to the management and the overseas students of the group of foundations or its institutions or sister concerns or the University.
Meanwhile, the SMSIMSR management has also decided to provide free medical education for government quota students and requested the government for the policy and make some special provision for 40% of government quota seats to be reserved for Karnataka students.
Speaking to The Hindu, Govinda Reddy, Chief Liaison officer of SMSIMSR said, “We are providing free treatment for the patients. Therefore, we need service-minded doctors. Among the 60% of management quota seats, we will offer all these seats to the students of our group of institutions who will abide with all our conditions. But, the problem is with the 40% government quota seats. Therefore, we requested the government to make some special provision for these seats to be reserved for the students of our group of institutions through SFCARP.”
However, before giving a special provision under SFCARP to SMSIMSR, the government will have to amend the rules of medical seat sharing regulations, fee regulations and existing reservation and roster policy. Then, a separate consensual agreement will have to be signed or a separate regulation should be brought.
Now, the Directorate of Medical Education will examine the proposal and send it to the higher office for further action.
“We formed a separate committee to examine the proposal of SMSIMSR for SFCARP. The proposal has been examined and sent to higher office for further deliberation in this regards,” said Sujatha Rathod, Director, Directorate of Medical Education.
