484 MBBS seats vacant in Maharashtra; delay in adding NMC-approved seats denies ‘fair chance’ to R3 students

Maharashtra has 484 MBBS and BDS seats vacant for the NEET UG stray vacancy round, with the choice filling facility available till November 13. However, the State CET Cell has drawn sharp criticism from a medical counsellor for depriving already admitted students of a fair chance to upgrade their colleges.

The Maharashtra State CET Cell added 100 new MBBS seats for the final counselling round under the state quota – 50 at the existing Ashwini Rural Medical College, Solapur and 50 in newly approved Malati Medical College, Akola.

Sudha Shenoy, medical education counsellor and director of SCICON Careers, pointed out that the National Medical Commission (NMC) had announced the inclusion of these additional seats on October 29, but the state authorities “took their own time” to approve them.

This, she said, is a “gross injustice” to students who already joined allotted seats in round 3 and who may have wanted to take these seats, especially when one of the colleges is an established institution whose intake capacity is increased. Shenoy reiterated that the NMC approval for the college came well before round 3, but the seats were not added by State CET Cell due to delay in internal approvals.

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Call for fair MBBS admission process

Every student should be allowed to upgrade in the consequent rounds, especially for those colleges where seats have been increased, she said, stating that it is a matter of “natural justice” and officials should not compel students to approach the court.

“Because it makes a huge difference when an established college like Ashwini Rural College gets 50 additional seats. It's a pity that meritorious but borderline rank students settle for lower colleges (or take BDS) up to third round and students below their rank grab higher or newly added seats in vacancy rounds,” she said.

Referring to the recent relaxation in the Supreme Court ruling that does not allow any upgradation after round 3, she argued that the same consideration should be “sympathetically” extended to all eligible students.

In a recent order by the Admission Regulating Authority (ARA), a Dalit student was allowed to participate in the Maharashtra NEET UG stray vacancy round, after Sindhudurg Shikshan Prasarak Mandal Medical College (SSPM) demanded excessive fees and denied admission.

She has requested the State CET Cell to allow all eligible students to participate in the stray vacancy round, with at least an option to choose from the two colleges to ensure a fair admission process. The Maharashtra NEET UG stray vacancy allotment results are scheduled to be declared on November 14.