State wants more seats in MD clinical courses

State wants more seats in MD clinical courses

Bengaluru, Aug 5, 2016, DHNS

Karnataka has asked the Medical Council of India (MCI) to be “liberal” while alloting seats for all clinical postgraduate and super-speciality courses, Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil said on Thursday.

Addressing mediapersons, Patil said the demand for all streams of clinical postgraduate courses is huge. “I have requested the MCI to enhance the number of seats for these courses,” he said. Patil said that currently, there is a dearth of specialists in all community health centres. If priority is given to these courses, the problem will be addressed, he said.

The minister said there are few takers for postgraduate preclinical and para-clinical courses. “A lot of seats went waste. Even private colleges couldn’t fill up these seats,” he added.

Patil said the demand for dental seats has gone down in the last three to four years.
“Most dental colleges have not been able to fill seats.” This year, the state quota for dental seats is 887 seats, while the quota under National Eligibility -cum-Entrance Test is 645 seats.

He said dental seats in government colleges cost Rs 45,000 per seat, while it is Rs 3.9 lakh for Comed-K students.

Patil said that this year there were 3,127 MBBS seats under the government quota, 1,370 seats under NEET and 1,500 to 1,700 seats in deemed varsities.

The minister said that a public relations officers would be appointed in all hospitals under the Medical Education Department.