Selection panel has no clue about seats vacant in state-run colleges

Selection panel has no clue about seats vacant in state-run colleges

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 09.12.2020

Hours after the MBBS seats surrendered by Tamil Nadu for admission under all-India quota were returned to the state, the selection committee in-charge of admissions did not know the number of seats that were vacant in state-run colleges after two rounds of centralised counselling.

Aspiring medical students, who are awaiting admission and upgrades to college of their choice, were disappointed. “Every year, the centre announces the last date well in advance. The state has to collect vacancies from its colleges and give a count at the end of the day. It is never done,” said Rakesh S, a student counsellor. “The selection committee has to add these into the matrix. We don’t know if it will be done when counselling resumes on Wednesday,” he said.

Each year, every state surrenders15% of MBBS seats in state-run colleges for admission of students from across the country. This year, TN surrendered 548 seats. Counselling for AIQ seats is done online by the medical counselling committee of the directorate general of health services. Students from across the country are allowed to lock choices and allotment is done based on merit in NEET 2020.

“The last date for students to join colleges allotted to them during the second round ended on December 8. If students don’t join colleges they are allotted to, the seats will be considered vacant and returned. We have asked deans from all government colleges to give us the number,” said selection committee secretary G Selvarajan.

Officials closed the counselling with 367 MBBS seats in government colleges and 314 in self-financing colleges. There were 78 BDS seats in government colleges and 948 in self-financing colleges.