53% MD, MS SEATS VACANT IN PUNJAB MEDICAL COLLEGES

FARIDKOT : As many as 53% MD (doctor of medicine) and MS (master of surgery) seats remained vacant in the seven medical colleges of Punjab following the first round of counselling for the admissions to the postgraduate (PG) courses.

Of total 621 state quota of PG seats, including MD, MS, MDS (master of dental surgery) and diploma, in 7 medical and 12 dental colleges in the state, 339 (54%) have been declared vacant by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot.

The first round of online counselling for admissions was completed by the varsity on June 1.

Of a total of 447 MD, MS seats in three government and four private colleges, 237 were declared vacant. Also, 24 out of 36 diploma seats were declared vacant in seven medical colleges.

The total vacant seats for MD/MS and diploma for the second counselling in government medical colleges at Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot is 85. The number of such seats is 176 in four private medical colleges — Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College, Amritsar, Dayanand Medical College and Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, and Adesh Medical College, Bathinda. Of the 3 PGDSM seats at Netaji Subash National Institute of Sports, Patiala, one is vacant. Seventy seven of a total of 135 MDS state quota seats are vacant in 12 dental colleges after the first round.

Also, the BFUHS included a penalty clause in which candidates will forfeit their refundable security deposit, if they exit the allotted seats after the second round of counseling.