The Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (BOPEE) has cancelled the provisional MBBS selections of six candidates admitted under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) quota after medical reassessments found they did not meet the benchmark disability threshold.

According to Medical Dialogues, five of the selections were at Government Medical College, Handwara, and one at Government Medical College, Doda. Rising Kashmir reported that GMC Handwara issued an order dated 10 November cancelling five provisional admissions with immediate effect, following a BOPEE notification of the same date. The Handwara selections were cancelled from the outset.

What the reassessments found

Under Section 2(r) of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, a candidate generally needs at least 40 percent of a specified disability to qualify for the benchmark category. Reassessments by the Standing Medical Board at SMHS Hospital, Srinagar, and other hospital boards recorded figures well below that level in several cases, including one candidate certified as visually impaired who was assessed at zero percent visual disability, ETV Bharat reported.

In the Doda case, the candidate challenged a 30 percent assessment and approached the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. A separate board at SKIMS Srinagar also recorded 30 percent, and BOPEE cancelled the selection after the court disposed of the petition on 2 November.

ETV Bharat reported that 64 of about 1,600 candidates counselled for medical seats this year presented disability certificates. The original certificates were issued by district medical boards, including in Kupwara and Rajouri.

Action recommended

BOPEE has recommended that the Health and Medical Education Department act under Section 91 of the 2016 Act, which provides for up to two years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh, or both for fraudulently availing benefits meant for persons with benchmark disabilities. It has also asked for the certificates to be cancelled through the chief medical officers concerned. Medical Dialogues notes these are recommendations and that the notifications do not show proceedings have begun. Kupwara's chief medical officer told ETV Bharat he would examine how the certificates were issued.

Lessons for admissions

Reserved-category certificates are credentials in their own right. Admission authorities can check disability certificates against the national UDID database, require reassessment by an independent board before seats are confirmed, and record the issuing board's details so that any later irregularity can be traced to its source.

Sources

This News Desk report summarises information published by the sources above, written in our own words. Persons named in criminal matters are accused, not convicted, unless a court has ruled otherwise. To report an error, use our contact page.

Jammu and KashmirMBBS AdmissionsDisability CertificatesBOPEEMedical Education

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