'OBC quota in medical education won't hit reservation matrix in Karnataka'

The Centre’s decision on providing reservation to other backward communities (OBCs) and economically weaker section (EWS) in undergraduate and postgraduate medical/dental courses has caught many by surprise. While the decision has left many aspiring students worried, officials in Karnataka clarified that the announcement will not disturb the existing reservation matrix at the state-level.

According to the experts, the reservation that was announced last week is for the all-India quota (AIQ). “Already 15% of the AIQ is available in all the state government-run institutions. The reservation of 27% for the OBC and 10% for the EWC, as announced by the Centre, is available only under the existing AIQ. The announcement has nothing to do with the existing state reservation policy,” said a senior official from the department of medical education.

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Officials revealed that all these years candidates falling under the OBC and EWS category were not allowed to claim reservations under the 15% AIQ. “These students had to compete for the seats under the General category. Now they can claim under the AIQ only if they have an annual income below Rs 8 lakh and also compete for the seats at the all-India level,” the officer clarified.

Dr P G Girish, Director, Department of Medical Education, said, “This is the reservation provided within the already existing reservation.”

Yet to implement EWS

Despite the Centre announcing the implementation of reservation for EWS in higher education in 2018, both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are yet to implement the scheme. The implementation of the EWS quota calls for a separate policy at the state-level which the Karnataka government is yet to formulate.

“We had requested the Union government, during 2018, to increase 25% seats in medical and dental colleges and accordingly provide the 10% EWS quota. However, to date, there is no response from the Centre on our request and hence the issue has stopped at the same level,” explained an official. If the Centre agrees to the request, Karnataka will gain additional 620 MBBS seats.

According to sources in the department, previous CM B S Yediyurappa had taken a decision to implement the 10% EWS quota in Karnataka in one of the last Cabinet meetings and directed officials to frame a state policy.