30% BDS seats go abegging in Punjab

Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) is staring at over 30% vacancies (no takers for 357 of 1,230 seats) in 15 state dental colleges this year, despite lowering the cut-off percentile for admission. The mop-up round of counselling for BDS concluded at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College at Faridkot on Friday in which 149 seats were filled. Last year, 201 seats went a-begging, with 275 the year before that.

Nine colleges have failed to fill all BDS seats. Government dental colleges at Amritsar and Patiala, Christian Dental College at Ludhiana, Laxmi Bai Institute of Dental Sciences at Patiala, BJS Dental College at Ludhiana and SGRD Dental College at Amritsar were able to fill all seats after three rounds of counselling.

Desh Bhagat Dental College, Mandi Gobindgarh has filled only 18 of 100 seats on offers, in spite of offering huge concession in fee. In Adesh Dental College, Bathinda, 29 of 100 BDS seats remained vacant. Genesis Dental College at Ferozepur has 59 of 100 seats vacant, while the SGND Dental College at Sunam, Rayat Bahra Dental College at Mohali and NDC at Derabassi, has 61 and 41 vacant seats, respectively.

The qualifying percentile for general category candidates was lowered from 50-40. For SC/ST/OBC candidates and persons with locomotory disability of lower limbs, this was lowered from 40-30 and 45-35, respectively. “The admission process for BDS courses is completed. The delayed in the counselling due to legal matters is the reason for the vacant seats,” said BFUHS vice-chancellor, Dr Raj Bahadur.