Uncertainty Looms Over Medical Seats Allocation in Telangana Post Reorganisation Act Expiry

Hyderabad: The expiration of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 on June 2, 2024, has sparked confusion over the allocation of medical seats in Telangana. This act previously facilitated the sharing of 15% of medical seats under the "Competent Authority Quota" between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for medical colleges established before the state's bifurcation in 2014.

However, medical aspirants and several medical associations are demanding that the seats should be reserved for local students.

Confusion Over Seat Allocation

Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, medical seats in colleges established before the bifurcation were shared between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. However, a Government Order (GO) from the Telangana government in 2023 mandated that all medical seats reserved under the quota in colleges established post-2014 would be exclusively for Telangana residents.

With the act's expiration, clarity regarding admissions in medical colleges established before 2014 is lacking, causing anxiety among aspiring medical students in Telangana. These students are uncertain about their chances of securing seats in the state’s government medical colleges as the new MBBS session approaches.

Implications for Medical Colleges

Telangana is yet to address the allocation of approximately 302 undergraduate and postgraduate seats in government medical colleges established before 2014. Andhra Pradesh, meanwhile, has decided to stop allocating seats to students from Telangana in its institutions last year after which the demand to exclusively reserve seats for local Telangana students was raised.

Telangana’s health department has not yet made a decision regarding whether to reserve medical seats exclusively for local students. This approach is already in place in several states, including Andhra Pradesh.

Key Affected Institutions

Five major medical colleges — Osmania Medical College, Gandhi Medical College, Kakatiya Medical College, RIMS Adilabad, and Government Medical College Nizamabad — established before 2014, currently offer 149 MBBS seats and 153 postgraduate seats. These seats, traditionally shared with students from Andhra Pradesh, are now in contention.

The Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) has demanded that students from Andhra Pradesh should no longer be admitted to these reserved seats. The Competent Authority, controlled by the Vice-Chancellor of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) in Warangal, oversees 85% of the state's medical seats, with the remaining 15% under the All India Quota for students nationwide, informed Dr. C. Sai Sri Harsha, President of T-JUDA. 

Shifts in Policy and Quotas

Last year, Telangana medical colleges that existed before 2014 continued the practice of shared seat allocations, while those established afterward reserved all seats for local students under the Competent Authority. This has led to debates over the allocation of seats in older colleges, with arguments from Andhra Pradesh that they contributed to these institutions through taxes and should retain their seat allocations.

Andhra Pradesh's 2023 GO barred Telangana students from seats in pre-2014 medical colleges, despite any increases in available seats post-bifurcation. This GO, released just before the admission period, resulted in Telangana students losing nearly 300 seats in Andhra Pradesh's older medical institutions.

Future Prospects and Ongoing Issues

Dr. C. Sai Sri Harsha, President of T-JUDA, told Medical Dialogues that they have wanted to ensure local students benefit from the new medical colleges. The increase in medical seats in Telangana could have greatly benefited Andhra Pradesh students due to the lack of parallel expansion in their state.

Dr. Harsha noted that the former Telangana health minister had supported exclusive benefits for local students in new medical colleges. The current Vice-Chancellor of KNRUHS, however, maintained that Telangana must comply with the Reorganisation Act and cannot change the policy all of a sudden despite Andhra Pradesh's non-compliance, and expected the issue to be settled by the next year.

As the new academic year approaches, the release of the prospectus for admissions remains pending, adding to the uncertainty. Dr. Harsha emphasized the need to uphold the commitment to exclude Andhra Pradesh students from the seats in old medical colleges, as this could result in an additional 300 to 350 seats for Telangana students due to a 50% increase in seats in these institutions.