Post-SC order, Faridkot varsity cancels PMET

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 30

Confusion over the fate of the Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) ended this evening as the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) and the Department of Medical Education and Research decided not to conduct the test scheduled for May 15.

Today was the last date for the submission of application forms. Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor, BFUHS, said the decision was taken after the Supreme Court today refused to put off the common entrance test, National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).

All MBBS and BDS seats in state’s medical and dental colleges would be filled on the basis of NEET merit, he said.

The BFUHS would refund the application fee of Rs5,000 each (Rs2,500 each in case of SC students) collected from over 15,000 students, the VC said.

The BFUHS had planned to conduct the PMET online this time. For the last over one week, the university had been providing online mock test to the candidates to make them familiar with the online exam pattern.

Confusion over NRI seats

Despite the BFUHS not conducting the state medical test, confusion continue to prevail over the status of 271 NRI seats (102 MBBS and 169 BDS) in all 21 medical and dental colleges in the state. In March, the medical education department had abolished the mandatory PMET for NRI students and notified the same. The NRI students were to be given admission on the basis on their merit in Class XII or an equivalent examination with physics, chemistry and biology subjects.

The university had no information about the status of the NRI seats as these were outside the purview of the PMET, said the VC.