MillenniumPost
Bengal

WBUHS brings out fresh notification on Domicile B

Kolkata: The West Bengal University of Health Sciences (WBUHS) on Thursday issued a fresh notification saying that medical aspirants staying in other states and enjoying Domicile B will not be allowed to take part in the medical counselling in the state, thereby revoking its earlier notification where it had invited applications from outside candidates.

Millennium Post had published a story on June 23, saying how the WBUHS, in its notification on June 21, had asked the candidates from other states enjoying Domicile B of the state to participate in the medical counseling, triggering confusion among the candidates as it apparently violated Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's instruction.

Banerjee had made a public statement a few days ago, saying that her government would not allow outside candidates to study medical only by the virtue of possessing a Domicile B certificate. She had also made it clear during her speech that the candidates from Bengal would be given preference over the outside ones while admitting them in undergraduate medical course in the 85 percent state quota seats.

However, despite the Chief Minister's assertion, the WBUHS had issued the notification, asking for the participation of outside candidates.

After the story was published in Millennium Post, the WBUHS backtracked, nullifying the earlier notification and thereby preventing candidates of other states from taking part in the counselling. In the latest notification, the WBUHS says that applicants belonging to states other than Bengal may contact the National Testing Agency (NTA) in this regard.

It may be mentioned here that NTA conducts the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), which is the national level medical entrance examination. If the NTA allows them to change the domicile status that they had filed during the application, the university would not object to the candidates being enrolled, the notice says.

A section of Bengal-based medical aspirants had vehemently opposed the admission of outside candidates in 85 percent state quota seats in the name of Domicile B.

It has often been found that candidates seek domicile B from the state government after failing to secure medical admission in their respective states.

Candidates enjoy Domicile A of a particular state if they have stayed there for ten years, while the candidates who are entitled to get Domicile B are the residents of other states whose parents live in Bengal permanently.

The Supreme Court in a ruling said that a candidate cannot enjoy two domiciles when he/she is appearing for a single examination.

Dr A K Maity, who was formerly attached to SSKM Hospital, had sent a letter to the Chief Minister on July 12, 2018, requesting her to follow single domicile rule for 85% state quota admission.

Dr Maity had said: "The permanent address of a candidate given in the NEET Application should be treated as the only domicile of the candidate. NTA has prepared a central merit list of candidates. The said list was sent to the medical counselling committee of Individual states through the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) in the Centre. Each state will prepare the merit list of candidates for their 85% state quota seats."

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