THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state has taken up with the Centre the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation’s (ESIC) decision to do away with the reservation for children of ESI-insured workers for MBBS/BDS seats in ESIC medical and dental colleges. Labour Minister T P Ramakrishnan wrote to his counterpart at the Centre Santosh Kumar Gangwar seeking his intervention in restoring the quota for children of insured workers.
Ramakrishnan pointed out that 35% of the seats in Government Medical College, Parippally, which was initially set up as an ESI medical college, has been set apart for children in this category. Instead of providing admission in the ESI quota, the ESIC had decided to merge the seats with the all-India quota for admission to MBBS and BDS seats in 2020-21.
Ramakrishnan pointed out that children of workers in various sectors, especially the cashew sector, used to get admission in the ESI quota. With the quota now abolished, such children won’t be able to get admission at Government Medical College, Parippally.