Tamil Nadu could face a major reduction in MBBS seats available under the state quota after six self-financing medical colleges were upgraded as deemed-to-be universities, according to officials.
The state has 22 self-financing medical colleges with about 3,900 MBBS seats. Under the existing arrangement, minority institutions earmark 50% of seats for the state quota, while other private colleges allocate 65%.
Officials said institutions including St. Peter’s Medical College, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Institute of Medical Sciences, Srinivasan Medical College and Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College have already been upgraded as deemed universities, and reports indicate two more colleges have also received such status. With six colleges moving out of the private-college framework, around 1,300 seats are at risk of being excluded from the state quota.
They warned this could include the loss of about 700 government-quota MBBS seats and around 50 seats under the 7.5% reservation for government school students, besides potential impact on remaining management seats for Tamil Nadu students. The officials added that while 12 colleges had sought a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University, none was issued, but the National Medical Commission used its powers to grant deemed status to four colleges so far, with more possible.
As deemed universities are not required to allocate seats to the state quota and can charge higher annual fees—up to Rs 20 lakh, compared to the earlier cap of up to Rs 13.5 lakh—students from Tamil Nadu may have to compete at the national level for admissions. The university officials said they have sought government permission for legal action over colleges being upgraded without an NOC. Separately, ‘We the Leaders’ president Annamalai called for an inquiry into the claim that 650 medical seats had already moved out of the state quota in the current academic year due to alleged administrative lapses during the previous DMK regime.
