MBBS/BDS admissions on basis of NEET UG-2025; Govt, JKBOPEE need to address quarries

DAYA SAGAR
J&K BOPEE has issued Notification No. 086-BOPEE of 2025 Dated 05-08-2025 for online choice filling for NEET UG (MBBS/BDS) Courses-2025 from 06-08-2025 (11:00 a.m. onwards) to 10-08-2025 ( later extended to 12-08-2025). In the notification the BOPEE has not mentioned the fee structure approved by the competent authority for government colleges as well as for Private Colleges and the eligibility criteria for some categories of seats in Private Medical Colleges like Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Sidhra, Jammu and also the eligibility criteria for some seats in the said college ie 25 Hindu Minority seats & the 15 Management seats except mentioning that the candidates should meet the NEET requirements. Reference was made to JKBOPEE as regards approved tuition fee by competent authority but JKOPEE has expressed inability to provide that ( e- brochure for 2025 pn page 41 para 18 also says Upon selection of the candidates for undergoing NEET UG 2025 course in private Medical Colleges, the fee structure have been fixed by competent authorities and charged by such medical colleges, the BOPEE is not in any way associated with it and in no way responsible for the same including the fee).

Surely there are some candidates who fearing that in view of OM seats having been reduced to 40 percent only from 50 percent in government colleges they may in case their conditions permit have to show option for Government Seats ( 40), HM seats (25), Management seats 15 on NEET score basis or even Poor & Backward candidates (10 seats) for admission in ASCOMS. But unless they know the fee burden they cannot decide opting for even 40 OM Government seats in ASCOMS Sidhra Jammu what to talk of Hindu Minority ( 25) & Management ( 15) seats for which the minors of eligibility have also not been mentioned and NRI ( 10) . Although suck seats have not been included for choice making by BOPEE in the present exercise but it has been mentioned that for these seats too BOPEE is recruiting authority and the exercise will be started separately by BOPEE {e brochure 2025 Ref para 16 on Page 36 (Filling up seats in ASHCOM) All allocated seats in ASCOMS including under Management Quota and NRI shall be filled up by the BOPEE only ).
Another missing link is that no eligibility criteria has been mentioned for HM (25) and Management seats ( 15 seats ) in e brochure by BOPEE whereas the same has been mentioned for NRI (10) seats. Why so is not understandable when the said seats have also to be filled / allotted by BOPEE ? Not only that since these seats are also to be filled up on basis of NEET merit and there are two different categories like other categories why have they not been included in exercise initiated on 05-08-2025 and the eligibility criteria is also NOT placed in public domain ( which would have shorten process and also reducedscope for any doubts ) ?
So since process has just started Government / Competent Authority may kindly consider the observations made here sympathetically and
(1).Make public the tuition fee fixed for different colleges and different categories of seats for the MBBS Session starting 2025 ( 2). Publish the eligibility criteria ( other than NEET requirement and registration with BOPEE ) for 15 Management Seats and 25 Hindu Minority seats and make that also part of e brochure . (3). Issue policy directions to BOPEE that the 15 Management Seats and 25 Hindu Minority seats be also included in choice making from 2nd round if not from 1st round itself. (4) NO DOUBT for the tuition fee being seen as higher or unreasonable by some the Management of a private medical colleges cannot be questioned / cannot be held responsible as the same is fixed by the competent authority / government in J&K . But in J&K some questions have been raised in past on the manner in which the fee is collected . As per some information obtained from private sources for the 2024 Batch of MBBS the only private medical college of UT of J&K has been at the time of admission in addition to Fee for 1st year also the fees for next 4 yrs in the shape of FDRs or Bank guarantee from candidates ( Documents required for MBBS admission session 2024 : Bank Guarantee for Rs. 19,80,000 lakhs (OM/HM), Rs. 1,71,600/- lakhs (P&B ) and US Dollars 86,088 (NRI) towards Tuition Fee for 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th year or 04 (Four) No’s FDR’s of Rs. 4,95,000/- lakhs each for (OM/HM), 04 (Four) No’s FDR’s of Rs. 42,900/- each for (P&B) and 04 (Four) No’s FDR’s of US Dollar 21522 each pledged to ASCOMS as guarantee). No doubt the reference of Management seats could be found in the quotes but as per sources that too was said to be like Om/ HM seat.In case the competent Authority has also allowed private medical colleges to adopt such mode of collection of fee then that is really unfair and should be amended . And in case such collection has not been allowed by competent authority then government must immediately issue advice to college managementsfor not collecting advance fee in the fair cause of innocent and less resourceful candidates opting for MBBS degree seats in UT of J&K, since process is already on. (5)Government may kindly relook at the academic eligibility criteria for the Poor & Backward ( family income not more than Rs.5833/ per month ) as regards min academic merit and such seats may be also kept in government medical colleges .
Omar Abdullah Government has always been expressing commitment to the cause of common man , particularly the meritorious but less resourceful ( socially , administratively and financially ) who aspire for better settlement in life but have acute economic limitations in the present times where many other people in competition have the advantage of buying better education, support in the form of tuition/ special coaching and living conditions upto the level of 10+2 education.
(The writer is Sr Journalist and social activist & analyst J&K affairs [email protected] 9419796096)