J&K: 50 Vaishno Devi college students to get fresh counselling on Jan 24
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Jammu: In a major relief for 50 students affected by the revocation of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME), the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) has scheduled fresh counselling on January 24 to accommodate them in seven government-run medical colleges across the Union Territory.
According to a notification on the Board’s website, the 50 supernumerary seats will be allocated strictly based on the NEET-UG merit of the candidates and their preferences among the seven newly established government medical colleges.
Earlier, the Board had stated that it could not conduct fresh counselling for MBBS admissions and that the allocation of supernumerary seats for those admitted to SMVDIME should be decided at the government level. This clarification was issued in a letter to the Union Territory’s Health and Medical Education Department, which sought its intervention to relocate students of the Institute.
Supernumerary seats are additional seats created beyond the normal intake in educational programmes, often to ensure representation for specific groups.
The SMVDIME had received permission in December 2024 to establish a new medical college with 50 MBBS seats for the 2025-26 academic session. Following the application process, the National Medical Commission’s Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) granted the institute a letter of permission on September 8, 2025, to commence the MBBS course.
Of the 50 seats, 42 were allocated to Kashmiri Muslim students, seven to Hindu students, and one to a Sikh student. This distribution drew strong objections from several Hindutva organisations, including the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), and the youth wing of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti. Demonstrations led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders demanded that funds donated by Hindu devotees be used for the upliftment and development of their community.
Amid the protests, MARB, on January 6, withdrew the institute’s letter of permission, citing non-compliance with minimum standards. It directed that students admitted during the counselling be accommodated in other institutions in Jammu and Kashmir as supernumerary seats.
With PTI inputs