Gujarat: NEET PG aspirants protest state gov's new, sudden rules

A day after the NEET PG 2022 counselling process began, aspirants from several cities in Gujarat began staging protests on September 16, opposing the recent guidelines issued by the state government. According to the new guidelines, NEET PG or FMGE qualifiers from other states, with proof of completing Class 11 and Class 12 from Gujarat, along with a domicile certificate can take part in the State PG counselling process.

“Earlier, only those candidates who completed their MBBS from Gujarat and were domicile of Gujarat could apply for the State PG quota. On September 15, after the counselling process started, the government mentioned, on their website, the change in admission guidelines,” said Advocate Shyam Shah, who is representing the protesting students.

By the time it was mentioned on the website, the registration process in several open states like Punjab, Tami Nadu, Puducherry, and Andhra Pradesh had already come to an end. This angered the aspirants, leading to protests in Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Valsad, Junagadh, Ahmedabad, Patan, Bhuj, Vadodara, and Vadnagar. This was followed by the protestors taking the issue to the Ahmedabad High Court.

What happened in the High Court?

Protestors moved the High Court on the morning of September 19, when the case was first heard. It was on the evening of the same day when the state government released an official notification about the new guidelines, however, the formal Gazette for the same is still not out. On September 26, the state government was given a notice, and September 27 was decided to be the next hearing. On September 27, the hearing was further slated for September 28, 4 pm.

The court mentioned that in the absence of any pleaders or petitioners, the judgement would still be given. The court also remarked that the Counselling Committee may have to comply with the judgement and re-conduct the process if required.

Petitioners’ demands

A NEET PG aspirant, Dr Meet Ghoina, Indian Medical Association (IMA) said, “The government should have ideally mentioned the new rules to the Gujarat Assembly at least a month prior to the registration process so that candidates could have filled in their choices accordingly.”