SC-appointed panel approves PIMS

PATIALA: The Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Jalandhar, may be able to admit 150 MBBS students in the coming session, as the SupremeCourt-appointed committee has approved the recognition to it.

The Medical Council of India (MCI) had disallowed admission after annual assessment. “But now after the overseeing committee has cleared us in an August 19 public notice on the Health Ministry website, we expect this permission to come,” principal Dr Kulbir Kaur said.

The process of approving and disapproving medical colleges is over by June usually but concerns related to the MCI’s functioning forced the government to give the colleges another chance to seek approval. In May, a threemember committee under former chief justice of India RM Lodha was asked to oversee the counselling and admissions under the MCI.

Panipat’s NC Medical College is another institute from the region to get permission to fill its 150 MBBS seats.

Meanwhile, the MCI has declared the admission schedule for the MBBS (bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery) and BDS (bachelor of dental science) programes, directing the states to get over with first counselling by September 5 and open the session by September 13. However, Punjab might run behind schedule, since its PMET is under judicial scanner after the parents of some candidates moved the Punjab and Haryana high court last month, alleging lack of transparency in the compiling of results.

“The hearing is on Tuesday and we have placed the MCI’s latest notification on the admission schedule in the high court,” said Anupam Gupta, counsel for Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, which governs admissions.