Dental colleges challenge abolition of NRI quota

Ahmedabad: The Consortium of Self-financed Dental Colleges has moved Gujarat high court against state government's ordinance abolishing 15% quota for NRI students in medical and paramedical courses in self-financed colleges.
The bench of Chief Justice RS Reddy and Justice VM Pancholi issued notice to the state government and sought reply on the constitutional validity of the Gujarat Professional Medical Educational Colleges or Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fixation of Fees) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2016.The HC has decided to hear this petition on Thursday along with another such petition filed by a USA citizen Prati Patel, who was seeking admission in the NRI quota.
Colleges' advocate Mitul Shelat said that the June 10 ordinance has been challenged on the ground that it is not within the state government's competence to do away with the provisions because this arrangement came into being on the basis of a Supreme Court's order.
Hence the government cannot impose its policies in this regard.
The petition also maintained that the abolition of NRI quota in medical, dental, physiotherapy and paramedical institutes is discriminatory against the colleges offering medical courses. This is because the NRI quota has not been abolished in other disciplines like engineering.