No reserved seat in super specialty courses of medical institutions: Centre

In an answer to the parliament, the health ministry clarified that there was no mandate for the reservation to Super Speciality courses in medical institutions across the country. Super Speciality courses consist of courses such as Master of Chirurgiae (Mch) and Doctor of Medicine (DM) being run in the medical institutions. While answering the questions regarding reservation in medical admissions, the junior health minister Ashwini Kumar Choubey informed that the Central government reservation policy was obeyed by all the Central Government institutions. He asserted that the reservation policy was also valid for admission to medical courses as a part of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019.

By means of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test - Super Specialty or NEET-SS, admission to super specialty courses are offered. For entry to DM or MCh or PDCC courses, this is a single-window entrance examination. According to a 2017 notification by the Health ministry, no other examination either at state level or institutional level entrance examination held by any university or medical colleges or institutions shall be effective according to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 from 2017 admission session. In October 2015, the Supreme Court had gone through its earlier opinion that there should really be no reservation in super speciality courses in medicine in the general interest of the nation.

The apex court also reverberated with the remark made in other judgements that the Centre and the State Governments shall earnestly consider this facet of the matter without interruption and suitable procedures shall be advanced by the Indian Medical Council so as to keep the Super Specialities in medical education unreserved, open and free.

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