TN for 50 more med seats in each of11 colleges

TN for 50 more med seats in each of11 colleges 

Pushpa.Narayan@timesofindia.com  22.10.2024

Chennai : The state health department has sought National Medical Commission (NMC) approval to increase 50 undergraduate seats in each of the 11 medical colleges started in 2021. If this happens, Tamil Nadu will increase its seats in 36 govt medical colleges by 550 MBBS seats to 5,600 for admissions in 2025-26. On Monday, director of medical education Dr JSangumani said increase in seats would enable more students to study medicine at a nominal cost.

 “TN is among the states with the maximum number of medical colleges. With a policy to have one new medical college in every district, we have ensured govt colleges are equal to private and self-financing medical colleges.” Of the 76 medical colleges in the state, the health department runs 36, while ESIC Medical College in KK Nagar and AIIMS in Madurai together offer 200 seats. The remaining 38 are self-financing colleges, private universities and deemed universities. 

An order asking six collectors to identify land parcels in their districts for the new colleges. “The process is on. Once land is identified and transferred to the health department, we can apply to NMC for permission,” said a senior health department official. This means admissions to the new colleges will not start by 2025. TN has also sought permission to start 70 postgraduate medical seats in 13 medical colleges for 23 different courses. While the seats cover almost all specialities, the highest demand is for anaesthesia and gynaecology, followed by four seats in paediatrics. “We have asked for six seats in each of these streams. The decision to increase these seats was based on demand within medical colleges,” Dr Sangumani said.