Punjab: Govt. Scraps Management and NRI Quota from AYUSH Colleges

The government of Punjab has withdrawn the management and NRI quota for UG or undergraduate courses in AYUSH colleges. The government has taken this decision after it received directions from the Union government. Now, the admission to 800 seats in AYUSH courses will be filled through National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET. Previously, the admissions to AYUSH courses were done through state level entrance test conducted by Guru Ravidas Ayurveda University.

Dr. Sujata Sharma, Director of Research and Medical Education revealed that the Union government decided to bring AYUSH courses under NEET and make education more affordable. Therefore, the state government decided to carry out admissions to AYUSH courses through NEET. Currently, the government is working on framing the new fee structure. The fee would be comparatively less than management and NRI quota seats.

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The decision of the central and state government will affect the private colleges directly. Currently, there is only one Ayurveda college, which is run by state government, and 15 private colleges.

In all these private colleges, 50% of seats are reserved under management quota and these seats are allotted to students at Rs. 1,20,000 per annum. On the other hand, the fees for government quota seat is Rs. 80,000. Similarly, the fee for NRI quota seats is Rs. 2,40,000 per annum.

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There are four private Unani and Homoeopathic colleges in Punjab, which will also be affected by the decision of the government. One of the principals of a reputed private college revealed that the decision of the government would affect the college managements financially. Therefore, the state government needs to concentrate on the fee structure for the seats under government quota.