138 MBBS, BDS seats lie vacant in pvt medical colleges

MUMBAI: For the first time in recent years, medical admissions in Maharashtra have ended with a significant number of seats in MBBS and BDS courses lying vacant – 138 in all

MUMBAI: For the first time in recent years, medical admissions in Maharashtra have ended with a significant number of seats in MBBS and BDS courses lying vacant – 138 in all. Admission data reveals 84 MBBS and 54 BDS vacant seats, almost all of them in private medical colleges and universities.

Sources in medical colleges say tighter scrutiny of the admission process has resulted in vacant seats. Significantly, the state government abolished the institutional round for undergraduate medical and dental admissions in private colleges for the upcoming academic year. All seat allotments are now made by the State Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, effectively barring backdoor entry and other irregularities in these much sought-after undergraduate courses.

According to admission data, there were 8,814 MBBS seats and 2,617 BDS seats available for the 2026-27 academic year. While all MBBS seats in government medical colleges were filled, 39 seats remained vacant in private medical colleges and another 45 in two private universities.

It was no different for dental admissions. Of the 54 vacant BDS seats, only two were in government colleges. Private dental colleges had 22 vacant seats, while a private university has 30 seats that remain vacant.

A retired dean of a medical college in Mumbai said the vacant seats come at a time when the state government has brought institutional-level admissions under the control of the State CET Cell. Until last year, private colleges conducted these admission rounds independently. Although these seats were subject to various regulations, they were prone to various irregularities.

This year, the CET Cell conducted three regular rounds and three stray rounds for medical admissions. “The CET Cell may have made the process more transparent. Processing all students through a common system probably reduced the scope for admission irregularities,” he said.

However, some believe the cost of medical education may have contributed to the vacant seats. Brijesh Sutaria, a parents’ representative for medical admissions, said, “With high fees and uncertainty over scholarship benefits, families are increasingly reluctant to commit their savings to expensive medical education. We need more affordable medical education, not merely more MBBS seats.”