Altogether 86 MBBS Seats Lying Vacant, Tamil Nadu urges Union Govt for Another Round of Counselling

Chennai: Following the closure of the MBBS admission deadline on September 30, a total number of 86 MBBS seats are lying vacant in Tamil Nadu. The number includes 16 MBBS seats belonging to government-run medical colleges, 3 seats in All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Madurai, 50 MBBS seats in deemed universities, and 17 in self-financing medical colleges.

In an attempt to save these MBBS seats, the Tamil Nadu State Government recently wrote to the Central Government seeking an extension of counselling deadline and return of unfilled seats to the State.

Writing to the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, the State Health Minister of Tamil Nadu Ma Subramanian requested to return all these vacant MBBS seats to the State quota.

Even after four rounds of online counselling by the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) under the Directorate-General of Health Services in New Delhi and the State Selection Committee under the Directorate of Medical Education in Tamil Nadu, these MBBS seats could not be filled.

Among the top government medical colleges that are facing the possibility of wastage of MBBS seats include Stanley Medical College, Omandurar Medical College, and the medical colleges in Madurai and Coimbatore.

Also Read: Over 450 MBBS Seats Vacant in Deemed Universities After Three Rounds of Counselling

In the letter directed to the Union Government, Tamil Nadu Health Minister prayed to extend the last date of counselling, which ended on September 30. Seeking an extension in this regard, Minister Subramanian wanted to allow Tamil Nadu to conduct a special round of counselling to fill these seats after converting them to the State Quota, adds the Times of India.

Last year altogether six MBBS seats including one each in the prestigious and most sought-after Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College got wasted and these seats are expected to lie vacant for the entire duration of the MBBS course period i.e. for five-and-a-half-year, adds TOI.

The Daily adds that despite a huge demand for MBBS seats in government medical colleges, these vacancies are caused by the NMC policy that it would not surrender vacant seats even after its fourth and last round of counselling.

Commenting on the matter an MCC official told the Times of India, "We don't return seats to the state government or deemed universities as per the Supreme Court order."

Clarifying that the admissions were closed in September based on the order of the Supreme Court, the official further added, "But considering experience where students don't join the seats allotted, we said students who don't take the allotted seats will be debarred. This has helped us reduce vacancies, but we could not stop it completely."

As per the State Health Department, the 16 vacant MBBS seats in Government Medical Colleges fall under the All India Quota. These seats include three seats in Madurai Medical College, two seats each in Stanley Medical College, Coimbatore Medical College, and Government Medical College in Omandurar, and one MBBS seat each in ESIC Medical College in Coimbatore, and the medical colleges in Karur, Tiruvannamalai, Nagapattinam, The Nilgiris, Tiruvallur, and Tirupur. Even though these seats were allotted the candidates did not opt for them.

Apart from the government MBBS seats, 50 seats belonging to the deemed universities in the city are lying vacant. The tuition fee for the MBBS course in the deemed universities is up to Rs 26 lakh a year.  Further, 13 seats belonging to Self-financing medical colleges and 4 MBBS seats belonging to private medical universities are lying unfilled as well. 

Even though the State has urged the Centre for an additional round of counselling, the rules prescribed by Supreme Court mandates that the last date of counselling is September 30 of every year. In fact that medical colleges and universities in Tamil Nadu started their classes on September 1.

Commenting on the situation, a lawyer, whose niece is waiting to get admitted to MBBS course told TOI, “If the government is serious about filling these seats it should move the Supreme Court. Neither the Centre nor NMC can extend deadlines because it was fixed by the apex court.”

He further said that the MCC procedure is based on a series of orders passed by the Supreme Court between 2017 and 2022. Referring to the situation, a student counsellor opined that the biggest flaw this year was parallel and simultaneous counselling conducted by the Central and State agencies. 

“Till the last round, a candidate was able to apply to both agencies, pick a better one and ditch the other one. Authorities should have avoided this at least in the stray round,” added the counsellor.

“The threat to debar a student for a year if he/she did not take the allotted seat was rendered ineffective as the student could have already taken a seat allotted by the other agency?” he said.

In the case of dental admission, at least 24 BDS seats from government colleges and 206 seats belonging to self-financing medical colleges, and 51 seats in deemed universities are lying vacant.

As per the rules, 15% of the total number of medical seats in government medical colleges are surrendered to the All India Quota and Tamil Nadu surrenders more than 800 MBBS seats under the AIQ category.

Meanwhile, parents, students, and counsellors have urged the State Government to move the Supreme Court to ensure that high-demand seats in government medical colleges get filled.

Commenting on this, Palanimanickam S, whose nephew is admitted to a self-financing medical college told TOI, "Meritorious students are pushed to pay more in self-financing colleges and deemed universities as some students block seats in government colleges."

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that earlier this year, the Union Minister of State for Health, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar had informed the Lok Sabha that altogether 860 MBBS and 12758 PG Medical Seats remained vacant in the last three years.

Last year during the academic year 2022-2023, altogether 262 UG medical seats and 4400 PG medical seats went vacant, revealed the Health Ministry data.

Also Read: Altogether 860 MBBS, 12758 PG Medical Seats Remained Vacant in the Last Three Years: MoS Health