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Medical aspirants, parents write to Maharashtra govt; oppose EWS quota in private medical colleges

Medical aspirants, parents write to Maharashtra govt; oppose EWS quota in private medical colleges

Indian Express3 days ago
Days after the Maharashtra government's decision to extend the 10 per cent Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation to private medical colleges came to light, medical aspirants and their parents have started sending emails to Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, requesting him to revoke the decision.
The content of the letters is more or less the same, with the mailers citing Supreme Court rulings that stated seats can be reserved for the EWS category without affecting seats of any other category.
'…there was a commitment by (the) Central Government to increase seats by 25 per cent to implement this 10 per cent EWS quota. So how is your Government not complying with the Central rule and Supreme Court verdict?' the letters stated.
The letters further said, 'Students have to burn midnight oil to crack these entrance exams and sometimes have to repeat multiple times to reach that score of a suitable seat. This decision of yours puts the middle-class general category students at a disadvantage, who are unable to obtain (an) EWS certificate due to various reasons.'
Aspirants and parents claimed that the reduction in the number of merit-based seats due to the implementation of the EWS quota will result in a steep increase in cut-off scores.
The emails, with the subject line – 'Request to Revoke 10 per cent EWS in Private Medical Colleges of Maharashtra' – will also be sent to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and both Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, among others.
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