No reservation for Economically Weaker Section students in AIIMS this year

Two new AIIMS were established in 2018 in Nagpur and Guntur with 50 seats each in temporary campus now increased to 100.
AIIMS (File Photo | PTI)
AIIMS (File Photo | PTI)

NEW DELHI:  Despite the Centre’s direction to make Economically Weaker Section (EWS) reservation compulsory, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences has failed to introduce the (EWS) reservation for students this academic season.

According to sources, the AIIMS authorities had appealed to the Union health ministry to exempt the EWS quota for the current academic season from all academic centres which has been accepted by the centre.

“Currently, AIIMS is not in a situation to increase the number of students. The accommodation needs to be done without affecting the present ratio of the unreserved. If the government had told to decrease the number of unreserved then we would have happily done that. But, to get 25 more we need to improve our infrastructure,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

“AIIMS doesn’t have enough hostels, lecture room, laboratories space to fit the students. The existing students are already facing trouble. So how can AIIMS make space for more? Parents have started complaining about the facilities that authorities provide,” the official noted.

Apart from Delhi, there are 14 other AIIMS in the country — Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Jodhpur, Raipur and Rishikesh.

Two new AIIMS were established in 2018 in Nagpur and Guntur with 50 seats each in temporary campus now increased to 100.

Six new AIIMS were added in 2019 — Gorakhpur, Bhatinda, Raebareli, Kalyani, Deoghar and Bibinagar with 50 seats each in the temporary campus.

“In some of the regional centres, there aren’t sufficient academic staff and buildings. Students get enrolled just for the name of AIIMS. But they deserve a better facility.

AIIMS will implement the reservation sooner or later but an exemption was demanded this year. A couple of other institutes has also sought exemption this year,” the official stated.

Earlier this month, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had said that around 4,800 MBBS seats have been reserved for students from EWS in the current year.

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