the goan I network
PANAJI
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, on Wednesday, issued a notice to the Dean of Goa Medical College (GMC) Dr Pradeep Naik asking him to explain why the GMC did not respond to a Union Health Ministry notification offering to upgrade diploma seats to MD and MS seats.
The private notice signed by Vishwajit, which surprisingly came into the public domain, states, “I would like to know from the Dean whether an application for the same was made from our side. Due to this non-compliance, the current and future batch of students lost out on the opportunity of at least 22 upgraded MD and MS seats. State lost out on a golden opportunity to get additional specialists and this is not acceptable.”
Besides asking the dean for an explanation for the delay, Vishwajit has also asked him to do the needful for upgradation of seats for Goa “before the fresh seat matrix is displayed for the second round of PG admissions to be held in the next few weeks.”
Though the GMC did not respond to the Union Ministry notification which gave the last date to reply as January 25, twelve parents sent a desperate plea to the Health Minister on February 10, asking him to intervene in the matter.
In their letter the parents wrote, “It is with great sadness that we place before you that our children have lost out on precious speciality degree seats in Radiology, Pediatrics, OBG, Anaesthology, Dermatology, PSM, Psychiatry etc.”
They asked the health minister “in the interests of their children and those to come” to instruct the GMC administration to take “emergency steps” to explain the delay and seek an appointment through Union Ayush Minister Shripad Naik with Union Health Minister JP Nadda to get an upgradation of seats before the second round of PG admissions to be held in the next few weeks.
The fact that the GMC did not apply in time to convert diploma seats to MD seats was first reported in ‘The Goan’ on February 16.
