Why are MBBS, and PG Medical Seats Going Vacant? NMC, MCC Conduct Meeting to Streamline Counselling Process Across India

Vacant medical seats have been a matter of concern for the authorities for the last few years. Sharing the data in this regard, the Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar had earlier informed that altogether 860 MBBS and 12758 PG Medical Seats remained vacant in the last three years. 

This year is also no exception as more than 2000 MBBS seats remained vacant even after multiple rounds of counselling. In fact, the Union Health Ministry had to approach the Supreme Court seeking an extension of the last date for admissions to prevent the wastage of 'precious' medical seats.

The statistics are not so good for the PG medical seats as well. Earlier this year, the Union Health Ministry reduced the cut-off percentile for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET-PG) examination to 'Zero' across all categories.

Reportedly this decision was taken by the Ministry to ensure that the number of vacant PG medical seats get reduced. Reducing the cut-off to 'zero' the Ministry made all the PG medical aspirants eligible to participate in the counselling. Despite such efforts by the authorities, 2962 MD/MS/PG Diploma Seats remained vacant for the stray vacancy round of NEET PG.

Recently, the Tamil Nadu Self-Financing Medical Colleges Association (TNSFMCA) filed a plea before the Supreme Court seeking a stray counselling round to fill up the vacant postgraduate medical seats.

While considering the matter, the top-court bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra mentioned that the matter would be considered after taking note of the number of vacant seats throughout the country.

Also Read: More than 2,000 Vacant MBBS Seats to be Filled in Special Stray vacancy Counselling Round

Why Medical Seats are Going Vacant? 

Numerous efforts have been made by the authorities to prevent the loss of medical seats, which ultimately equals to loss of national resources. In the case of MBBS seats, there were issues such as delays in conducting counselling.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that among the 2000 MBBS seats that remained vacant this year, around 600 MBBS admissions were likely to be cancelled as they were either made after the admission deadline i.e. September 30, or those seats were filled at the institute level, which NMC had earlier barred.

In an unprecedented move, the National Medical Commission (NMC) had earlier cancelled 141 stray-vacancy round MBBS admissions in Maharashtra, as the counselling for these seats was conducted at the institute level through email communication.

State Counselling authorities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka earlier approached the Central Government authorities and the Supreme Court seeking permission from the State to hold a second round of stray counselling.

The reason for vacant PG medical seats was, however, different. The cut-off was lowered to 'zero' and for this, the authorities had to face criticism from the medical fraternity. However, despite this move, there was a lack of interest in the PG medical aspirants to opt for postgraduate medical seats belonging to non-clinical specialities. The issue of vacant medical seats continued even though several medical colleges offered free medical seats.

Also Read: MCC releases clear vacancy seat Matrix for Stray Vacancy Round of NEET PG, MDS counselling

NMC Meeting to Streamline Counselling Process: 

Amid this situation, when the country is plagued with the issue of vacant medical seats, the Apex Medical Education Regulatory Body in India, NMC, is now planning to streamline and optimize the medical education counselling process across the nation.

The Commission discussed the issue in a meeting dated November 08, 2023. The meeting was conducted under the leadership of NMC Chairman Dr. B. N. Gangadhar and it focused on enhancing the medical education counselling process at the national level, marking a significant stride in India's commitment to excellence in medical education, the Commission mentioned in a release.

During the meeting, the team of the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) arranged for a comprehensive presentation, in the presence of DGHS, MoHFW- Dr Atul Goel, Director General. This presentation underscored the NMC's dedication to streamlining and optimizing the counselling procedures within the field of medical education across the nation.

As per the NMC release, this meeting underscored the Commission's ongoing efforts to drive positive changes in medical education counselling procedures across the country.

The National Medical Commission extends its gratitude to all participants and eagerly anticipates continued cooperation to ensure the highest standards in medical education, added the NMC release.

Dr Gangadhar expressed his deep appreciation to the MCC members for their valuable contributions and unwavering commitment to the betterment of medical education in India. In his statement, he emphasized, "Our mission at NMC is to raise the standards of medical education in India and transparent & smooth counselling process adds to that goal."

The meeting was also attended by Dr Aruna V. Vanikar, President of the Undergraduate Medical Education Board, Dr. Vijay Oza, President of Post Graduate Medical Education Board, Dr Yogender Malik, Member of Ethics & Medical Registration Board, Dr. B. Srinivas, DDG (ME), Sh. Pankaj Aggarwal, Director (IT & Coordination), and Sh. Aujender Singh, Deputy Secretary (PGMEB).

Also Read: Supreme Court issues notice on plea seeking stray round for vacant NEET PG seats