Team Herald
PANJIM: In a decision that moves away from meritocracy and into the realm of plain vote bank politics, the Goa government has reserved 41 per cent of State quota seats for Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) students for post graduate courses in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC).
Following recommendations from the Expert Committee, the State government has reserved 2 per cent seats for SC, 12 per cent for ST and 27 per cent seats for OBC students. The roster for reservation would be prepared by the Social Welfare Department.
The decision comes almost over a year-and-a-half after the High Court in October 2021 struck down the government’s decision of reserving 41% of State quota seats for post graduate courses in GMC. However, the High Court left room for the formation of an expert committee on the issue.
Subsequently, an Expert Committee was constituted, which recommended the reservations, which the government accepted on May 5
The government had in May 2020 granted a similar reservation under the reserved category for the academic year 2021-22, which was challenged by over 100 doctors. This decision was based on the recommendations of the two commissions- Goa Commission for ST and SC and Goa State Commission for Backward Classes.
While setting aside the government order of May 2020, the Court was of the view that the decision was made in an extremely hurried, casual and cavalier manner, without even a semblance of application of mind.
Meanwhile, the United Tribal Association Alliance (UTAA) earlier in the day demanded the immediate implementation of the reservation at the post graduation courses in Goa Medical College for Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes.
Addressing a press conference at Margao, UTAA President Prakash Velip along with Vishwas Gaude and Satish Velip, also requested the concerned department to implement the above reservation from the forthcoming academic year.
“Reservation at the postgraduate level in GMC was a long pending demand of the SC/ST and OBC community. Now, students from these communities will be able to take all the benefits at the postgraduate level,” said Velip.
He further stated that out of 12 demands of the UTAA many have been fulfilled by the government; however, political reservation in the Goa Assembly is yet to be accepted.
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Bhandari Samaj wants reservation order implemented as per HC verdict
PONDA: Welcoming the State government’s decision to reserve 41 per cent of State quota seats for SC, ST and OBC students for PG courses in GMC, the Gomantak Bhandari Samaj demanded that the reservation order be implemented as per the High Court verdict and should not keep any scope for litigations.
Welcoming the government’s decision, Samaj president Ashok Naik sounded cautious and stated that the notification is not as per the earlier one issued in 2004 and demanded that the reservation should be strictly as per the High Court order.
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OPINION
Critical life-saving professions should have only one reserved category: Merit
While a case can surely be made out for opportunities and avenues for the weaker sections in all walks of life, medicine is one area among a few others where a line must be drawn. The only reserved category has to be merit because the doctor in whose hands you place the lives of your loved ones is only a doctor, not an upper-caste or a lower-caste doctor.
If the principal ground for reservation is upliftment and equal opportunities, the place for these starts in primary education and should go right up to graduation. But when it comes to critical professional courses where lives are at stake, you cannot have a quota for admissions to those courses.
If there are 41 out of 100 students in GMC from the reserved category, there is absolutely no doubt many of them will be meritorious. However, when you implement these reservations, you may be compromising merit in many of these 41 seats, whereas in the other 59, there is no other factor that has determined their presence in the PG course in GMC.
Every child is a treasure and potential asset. Ensure that they are protected and given opportunities through means such as reservation. But when they are ready to take that giant leap and join noble professions like medicine, the forces, etc, let us have the very best from any caste, creed, language, or religion.
Let us not forget that we need the best doctors in our health centres, our villages, and our remote forested areas.
The last word on this should be left to the High Court. This is what it said when the government first made the move to reserve seats in GMC PG courses in 2020: “The decision was made in an extremely hurried, casual and cavalier manner, without even a semblance of application of mind.”