No deadline extension leads to loss of 50 MBBS seats

No deadline extension leads to loss of 50 MBBS seats 

TIMES NEWS NETWORK  30.10.2024 

Chennai : Union govt has refused to extend the deadline for admission to MBBS/BDS courses for 2024 and the state selection committee said it would not admit students to the 50 additional MBBS seats at Annaii Medical College and Research Institute this academic year. Additionally, results for the stray (final) round of counselling will be released a day late on Wednesday following a request from several parents. Last week, the state selection committee wrote to the Centre seeking permission to extend the deadline for medical and dental counselling. Health minister Ma Subramanian said the addition of fresh seats in the stray round is not possible as students don’t have the option to upgrade seats in this round. Adding fresh seats without giving the option of upgrade would defeat the purpose of merit, he said. When the committee permits upgradation, it will create vacancies in other colleges too. “So, to fill seats, we need a special round. It can’t be done in the stray vacancy round, where students are debarred if they don’t take the seat they are allotted,” he said.

On Oct 23, Annaii Medical College and Research Institute announced that it received permission to admit 50 more students, taking its seat tally to 100. The stray round, which began the next day, had 296 vacant seats in medical and dental colleges. This includes one MBBS seat and 23 BDS seats in govt colleges, 67 seats in self-financing medical colleges and 61 MBBS seats in private medical universities, besides four BDS seats under the 7.5% quota for govt students and 136 seats in self-financing dental colleges. 

Results Delayed The results for the stray vacancies will be announced on Wednesday instead of Tuesday, officials said. The selection committee said that eligible candidates must pay an additional security deposit of ₹5 lakh for the MBBS course and ₹2 lakh for the BDS course to take part in the stray round or subsequent round (if any). The amount will not be refunded if the candidate does not  join the courses after allotment. In addition to the security deposit, the candidates must pay the tuition fee and discontinuation fee if they do not join courses after allotment and will be barred from counselling for 2025. “Most parents wanted an extension of the deadline by a day as banks were closed on Saturday and Sunday,” said a senior official at the committee. “Instead of releasing the results on Tuesday, it will be released on Wednesday,” officials said