Tamil Nadu Hopeful for adding at least 1500 MBBS seats for the coming year

The state with its 22 government medical colleges which currently has 2,750 MBBS seats. Besides, there are 10 deemed universities and 13 self-financing medical colleges.

Chennai: After facing a major setback in terms of Health Ministry denials to its MBBS seats in various medical colleges for the year 2018-18, the state of Tamil Nadu is all ready to makeup for the lost seats in the next academic session.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the state lost as much as 700 seats, when the Ministry of Health following the MCI recommendations denied renewal permission to 4 existing medical colleges in the state.

Read also: 11800 Seats lost: 82 medical colleges not given MBBS Renewal

Another 600 potential MBBS seats lost when 4 upcoming medical colleges of the state were denied MBBS permission

Read Also: 68 New Medical Colleges denied establishment

The state government, as well as the medical colleges, are now collectively working to makeup for the lost seats till now. A recent report in TOI states with state government and private medical colleges applying to the Medical Council of India for an increase in seats, Tamil Nadu is likely to add more than 1500 medical seats to its colleges this year. This comes in the form of

• Panimalar Medical College and St Peters' Medical College have bagged the recommendation of the DMER for 150 MBBS seats each


• The state government has issued "no-objection certificates" to Madurai-based CSI Medical College and Research and Kovai Medical Centre in Coimbatore, both self-financing institutions, for 150 MBBS seats each,


• The debarment that had been placed by MCI on 3 medical colleges namely Annai Medical College, Kancheepuram, Annapoorna Medical College, Salem and Madha Medical College in the year 2017 for the academic year 2017-18 and 2018-19 will finally come to an end. This would enable these medical colleges to apply for MBBS courses for the coming academic year of 2019-20. If approved, these medical colleges would get 150 MBBS seats each.


• Ponniah Ramajayam Medical College, which had been denied permission for an increase of seats last year, is planning to re-apply again


• As per DMER Dr A Edwin Joe , the new Medical College at Karur will add another 150 MBBS seats to this already long list of additions.


• Tirunelveli and Madurai medical colleges are working towards a seat hike to 250 MBBS seats.

"As long as they have prescribed faculty and standard infrastructure, permission is given to new colleges. The inspection will be conducted in all the colleges before they are given permission. If we continue to have a seat-sharing process, there will be a substantial increase of government quota seats next year," MCI vice-Chairman, Dr C V Bhirmanandam TOI.

"As a policy, we have decided that we will add one new college every year. Whether or not that happens we will increase the number of seats in all government medical colleges to 250," the chairman added