PGIMS refuses bond refund to students vacating seat

The overlapping counselling schedule for admissions in post graduate medical courses in colleges under Haryana and national board has put students in a peculiar dilemma.

Students who got through in Diplomate of National Board (DNB) seats after having been allotted a seat in Haryana by Pt BD Sharma University of Health and Sciences have complained that they have been asked to forfeit their ₹5 lakh counselling bond if they opt out of their allotted seat to move on to DNB. This, because the university said the seat vacated by a student to move on to other college will remain vacant as they have closed the counselling schedule, even when the counselling schedule of the DNB was going on.

Parents of some students created ruckus after the college refused to refund the counselling bond on Saturday. “I was allotted a PG diploma seat here on June 10. They allowed me to attend Diplomate of National Board (DNB) counselling by giving bonafide certificate. But now after I got through in DNB, they are not letting me vacate my seat even when there are candidates waiting to take admission,” said Ankita Malik, a candidate.

The parents raised their resentment and asked the university what benefit it will have in keeping seats vacant at a time when the country was facing a shortage of doctors.

The university authorities meanwhile said they were bound by the procedure and had closed the counselling schedule on Friday. “They could have vacated their seat by Friday, but now it is late and it cannot happen,” said Dr HK Aggarwal, registrar at the university.

The students, however, questioned that when got admission through DNB only on Saturday, how could they have vacated their seat in the city college on Friday. They alleged that their written application to vacate the seat was not even attended to by the director.

“He is refusing to even write on the application that it is rejected. He should at least acknowledge the application so we can go to court in future to challenge the procedure that is costing us a fortune of our income,” a parent said. When asked, the director, Dr Rakesh Gupta, said he did not want to comment.

I was allotted a PG diploma seat here on June 10. Now I have got through in DNB but they are not letting me vacate the seat. ANKITA MALIK, a candidate