After facing much anxiety over the past two weeks, MBBS aspirants heaved a sigh of relief as the department of medical education has retracted its last-minute decision to implement a 10 per cent quota for students from the economically weaker section (EWS) in private colleges.

As per a notice released by the department on July 30, “For MBBS/BDS/BAMS/BHMS and BUMS courses, this reservation [for EWS students] will be applicable only if the Central government /respective council increases existing seats. For courses other than MBBS/BDS/BAMS/BHMS and BUMS, 10% EWS reservation will be applicable on available seats.”

The row began last week, when just a day before admissions began for undergraduate medicos, on July 23, the NEET (UG) guidebook was released with an annexure stating that 10 per cent of seats in private medical colleges would be reserved for students belonging to the economically weaker section. This quota was seemingly introduced without increasing the total number of seats at the medical college, sparking fears about the availability of open-category seats.