PUDUCHERRY: The government on Tuesday issued a notification granting horizontal reservation of 10% of the total intake of seats to the students who have studied in Puducherry government schools from Class 1 to 12, and have passed the NEET, for admission to MBBS/ BDS/ BAMS courses in government/ private self-financing medical colleges in the UT from the academic year 2023-24.
Chief Minister N Rangasamy said 37 seats in MBBS are reserved for eligible students in the current academic year. This move will particularly help students from rural areas who cannot afford private coaching but have qualified NEET, he said. The CM advised government school teachers to put in more effort and equip students so that they can get into merit seats and the most deserving ones will get the reserved seats.
Meanwhile, AINRC MLAs led by PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan hailed Chief Minister N Rangasamy for the reservation and thanked the L-G for supporting the cabinet decision. They also thanked the central government for approving it. Briefing newsmen at a press conference, the minister said for the past 20 years, the CM had been ensuring students from poor and rural families reached the citadel of higher education and realised their dreams.
He also made Puducherry a hub of education. Starting with the introduction of the breakfast scheme for school students, he went on to introduce financial assistance for higher education. "Rangasamy has always provided a higher allocation for education in his budgets — 11% to 12 %, way higher than the Kothari Commission recommended 7%.
The constant pursuit of the file on reservation with Centre, replying to all queries and personally talking to Home Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has led to its materialisation, while the previous government failed due to differences with the then L-G, he said.