Srinagar, October 03, 2021 (PPI-OT): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, doctors and students are protesting the Indian government’s plan to introduce the all-India quota in medical courses, fearing that locals will lose out to outsiders.

The all-India quota comprises 15 percent of the total available undergraduate seats and 50 per cent of postgraduate seats in government medical colleges. Till now, MBBS and postgraduate seats in medical colleges in Kashmir used to be reserved only for locals. Doctors have staged protests at multiple places across the territory against the plan and threatened to intensify the agitation.

Dr Nisar-ul-Hassan, president of a doctors’ body, said that the introduction of the AIQ would jeopardise the careers of local aspirants. “Jammu and Kashmir was previously exempted by virtue of being a state. Now that it is a Union Territory, things have automatically changed. Health is a state subject and states have the discretion to accept or reject a decision. But now we are a Union Territory,” Dr Hassan told media men.

The doctor, however, concluded that overall such a move would be detrimental to Jammu and Kashmir as the AIQ would open the floodgates for outsiders and gravely impact local aspirants. “Pooling will block job avenues for locals and increase unemployment among doctors in Jammu and Kashmir,” Dr Hassan added.

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