Srinagar, Jan 08 : Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that the Jammu and Kashmir government will not withdraw the grant-in-aid provided to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University.
“We have given aid to the university, and we are not one of those people who will take back the money,” the Chief Minister told reporters during a media interaction.
He said the issue of the medical college and the affected students had already been discussed earlier in Samba in the presence of the Health Minister.
Omar said the students had cleared the NEET examination on merit and it was the legal responsibility of the government to accommodate them.
“These children have passed the NEET exam and it is their merit. It is our legal responsibility to adjust them,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the government would try to arrange supernumerary seats for the affected students so that their education is not affected. “We will try to arrange supernumerary seats for them. It is not difficult for us to adjust them. We will do it,” he said as per KNS.
Omar also raised questions over how the medical college had cleared inspections. “First tell me, who did the inspection? And if it was done, how did it pass?” he asked.
He said the responsibility should be fixed by questioning the university authorities. “You should ask the office bearers of the university. If you have built a medical college, why did it not pass the inspection?” he said, also referring to the role of the university leadership.
Referring to political reactions to the issue, Omar said that if the BJP is happy that the university has not maintained its standards, then who is responsible for this, and what action will be taken against them.
Reiterating the government’s position, the Chief Minister said the affected students would be adjusted, but there must be accountability to prevent similar situations in the future. “We will adjust these 50 students, but there should be some response for the future loss of these students,” he said as per KNS.
He added that the upcoming Assembly session would be the appropriate forum to raise further questions. “The Assembly session is coming. Ask their members to ask questions. We will answer their questions,” he added.(KNS)
