नवीनतम
Vaishno Devi Medical College students to be enrolled in 7 J&K GMCs
JAMMU [Maha Media]: Two weeks after the cancellation of the MBBS course at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Jammu, the J&K government has decided to accommodate the 50 students in seven government medical colleges within Jammu and Kashmir.
The J&K Board of Professional Entrance Examination (BOPEE), in an official notice accessed by the news agency, has invited the students for the physical round of counselling to accommodate them in the newly established seven J&K Government Medical Colleges against the supernumerary seats. The counselling session has been scheduled for Saturday (January 24) in Srinagar as well as Jammu offices.
Earlier this month, the National Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) withdrew the Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to the SMVDIE in Jammu’s Reasi for running the MBBS course for the academic year 2025-26.
The suspension of the registration was celebrated in Jammu, where Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti, a grouping of 60 social and right-wing organisations that came into being in November 2025, launched an agitation against admission to Kashmiri Muslim students. Forty two Muslim students from Kashmir were admitted in the maiden batch of 50 students in the medical institute based on competitive NEET merit.
They reasoned that offerings of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board that set up the SMVDIME come from Hindu pilgrims and should be utilised only for Hindus. But the SMVDIME is not listed as a minority institution and has received grants of over 50 crores from the J&K government in the last two years. The students were asked to leave the college after the withdrawal of permission for the MBBS course.
The NMC, while withdrawing the permission, had said that those admitted to the college during the counselling shall be accommodated in other institutions in Jammu and Kashmir against supernumerary seats. Initially, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) said it could not conduct fresh counselling for MBBS admissions.
But now, the fresh notice, undersigned by JKBOPEE’s controller of examination Prof Gurvinder Raj Verma, makes it official that the students will be admitted to GMC Anantnag, Baramulla, Doda, Handwara, Kathua, Rajouri and Udhampur based on their merit in NEET. Eight seats have been reserved in GMC Anantnag, while seven students each will be accommodated in the rest of the colleges.
Students have been advised to bring along original documents, including domicile certificates and admission fee receipts for verification. Provision has also been made for authorised representatives in exceptional cases. Soon after suspension of college registration, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had assured of accommodating the students in medical colleges within Jammu and Kashmir.
The seat matrix of 50 supernumerary seats has been set up by the J&K Health and Medical Education Department.
