Rajasthan: How management quota seats in medical colleges are becoming a worry for students, parents

The inclusion of Management Quota seats in government medical colleges across Rajasthan is proving to be a headache for parents and students. Having protested without any significant results over the matter since 2018, when 35 per cent of the State Quota seats were converted into management seats, students and parents are desperate for a solution.

What is bothering them most is the fact that students with similar ranks are having to pay varying fees for MBBS and MD courses. As of now, after the Management Quota inclusion, only 35 per cent of the seats remain for State Quota students, which get filled soon. After this, meritorious students eligible for the State Quota are forced to opt for the management seats.

"The fee for these seats is too high. It is not ethical," says Aman Singh, a student from Dungarpur Medical College. "The fee is Rs 8.6 lakh per year. Even the EWS (Economically Weaker Section) students are being asked to pay this. This is wrong. How can a student, whose family income is less than 8 lakh per annum, pay this?" questions Vipul Bhardwaj, a student from Jhalawar Medical college.

"This reservation policy is unfair for both students and parents," says Manoj Kumar Jain, whose daughter is a third-year student at Jhalawar Medical College. "I have a private job and we are a middle-class family. Paying such a large amount as fees per year is very difficult. And this year, the college asked for the fourth-year fees even before the third-year exams are finished," he added.

Vipul, however, points out a major problem with taking loans. "Banks provide student loans for not more than Rs 7.5 lakh per year. And for that, we have to provide securities worth more than Rs 7.5 lakh. But here, even after opting for the loans, the purpose is not solved as the fee is higher. We have to borrow from relatives," he said. "No other state has such a problem. It is our seats which are being sold to us," he added.

The MBBS doctors and their parents claim that multiple protests over the issue were futile in eliciting a positive response from the government. "We met the Chief Secretary, Heath Secretary, political leaders and even the Chief Minister, but nothing was done," said Kalyan Singh, a parent and activist. "The writ petition that was filed in the High Court has also been to no avail," added Jain.

Jain stated that arranging a state-wide protest over the matter would be difficult as there are many students and parents involved. "However, we are trying to do the best we can and bring the government's notice to this issue. The government should definitely look into this. It is, after all, the question of students' hard work," he said and added, "My daughter secured 580 marks, which makes her very much eligible for the State Quota seats. But they were filled and she had to opt for management seats. Her hard work fetched her good marks, but we are suffering because of this policy."

The parents say that equalising the fees for both quotas is one solution to the problem, to which the students agree. "Either the Management Quota seats should be eliminated or fees should be put in order," Aman opined, while Vipul stated that having paid seats in the colleges is not a problem, but fees should be nominal since these are supposedly government colleges. "If State Quota students pay Rs 50,000 on an average per year, the fees for management seats should not exceed Rs 3 lakh," he stated.

Jain additionally points out that having Management Quota seats in the colleges is unnecessary since the merit of students opting for State Quota and Management Quota seats are more or less the same. "The seats serve the only purpose of generating funds," he said. "The reservation for SC, ST and other quotas is necessary, but this type of reservation is unconstitutional," added Singh.

Singh mentioned a loophole in the system. Only the colleges governed under RajMES (Rajasthan Medical Education Society), a regulatory body which was formed under the government in 2017, have this Management Quota reservation in place. And these newly built colleges are called government colleges but are not categorised as such. "If they come to be classified as government colleges, the fees will automatically be nominalised or evenly distributed between the various quotas," he said.

"During each budget session, we submit a proposal on this to the state government, but it has not come to be considered. We want the state to set up a cabinet meeting, look into the problems and resolve this issue as soon as possible," Singh said further.