Maharashtra Govt Scraps EWS Quota in Private Medical Colleges

The Mahayuti-led Maharashtra government has revoked the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) quota in private medical colleges. The 10% reservation for EWS students was introduced in undergraduate courses under the general category without a corresponding increase in the number of seats.

After scrapping this, the number of reserved seats in medical colleges for EWS candidates on merit will shrink — currently, there are just 3,500 — according to the Hindustan Times. The quota was introduced without any formal announcement; it was merely mentioned in the admission brochure released by the state Common Entrance Test (CET) cell before admissions recently began, causing a rude shock to parents and students alike.

Parents had sent emails to the state Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and, along with education activists, met him on Tuesday to protest the implementation of the reservation.

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On Wednesday, the state medical education department reversed its decision. It clarified that the EWS reservation would not be implemented in private medical colleges unless seat capacity is increased — a move that aligns with the central government’s original 2019 approach.

A government resolution released Wednesday stated: "10% of the available seats will be reserved for EWS candidates. For MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, and BUMS courses, this reservation will apply only if the central government or respective councils increase the existing seats. For all other courses, the reservation will apply to the available seats."