The number of MBBS seats on offer have increased by over 4,500 for the upcoming academic session as compared to the last year-marking probably the sharpest rise in the seats in medical colleges in a single year in the country.
A total of 74,215 students will get admission into MBBS course with government medical colleges accounting for 36,222 seats. Last year, there were total 69,712 MBBS seats available. The data submitted by The Medical Council Of India-Board of Governors to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, accessed by this newspaper, shows that 33 new medical colleges have been permitted this year-majority of which are district hospitals being upgraded into teaching hospitals.
Results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, through which admissions to most medical colleges in the country, barring AIIMS and JIPMER, Puducherry are carried out, were declared just last week. "The significant rise in the number of MBBS seats is also due to many medical colleges offering more seats under the new Economically Weaker Section quota and relaxed rules that allow colleges to increase their student uptake," a Ministry official said.
"The sharp hike in seats is especially crucial this year as in 2018, the number of MBBS seats had gone down by nearly 7,500 as many existing medical colleges were not allowed to take new admissions by the MCI that was later superseded."
The biggest beneficiary of the increased seats in Uttar Pradesh where 7,102 students will get into MBBS course this year whereas last year this number was 6,499. Karnataka, with a total of 9,195 seats, however, continues to have the largest number of MBBS seats in the country. In 2018, this number was 8,845.
Some medical education experts, however, sounded cautious and saying that the over-enthusiasm by the regulator in allowing colleges to increase seats could rather be counter-productive. "MCI-BOG has adopted a new MBBS updated curriculum that focuses more on hands-on practice for students and clinical, behavioural training for which for that training of existing faculty is still underway," said Satendra Singh of University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi. "There is already a shortage of faculty and to pack up the classrooms with more students will end up impacting the quality of education negatively."
