40% dental college seats in Maharashtra still vacant after three rounds

The constant delays in the admissions to medical and dental colleges in the state have left a large number of seats vacant in private colleges, especially those

The constant delays in the admissions to medical and dental colleges in the state have left a large number of seats vacant in private colleges, especially those offering dental courses. As per the list released by the state common entrance test (CET) cell on Friday night, more than 40% seats in private dental colleges have not found any takers after three admission rounds.

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Of the 2,350 seats in 25 institutes, 1,028 seats have been surrendered to colleges for institutional rounds. Last year, the total surrendered seats stood at 622.

“The first common seat allotment list for medical and dental seats was released in the second week of July, and the second list was put on hold for almost a month, owing to the floods in the state. Most students had to confirm their seats in other parts of the country,” said Aniket Mahale, a medical aspirant.

The state CET cell announced a final mop-up round in the second week of September to fill the vacant seats. All the seats vacant after the mop-up round were surrendered back to the institutes for institutional rounds, in which colleges can allot seats in its private quota. State CET cell commissioner Anand Rayate said colleges can fill the seats by September 15. “In the mop-up round, many students who had earlier confirmed admissions for the BDS course, surrendered their seats to enrol for MBBS and BAMS courses, leaving more seats vacant in dental colleges than last year,” said Rayate.

“Students who scored high in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) had to opt for Ayurveda or physiotherapy courses or find seats in colleges outside Maharashtra, while those who scored low can now get admissions in the state. This is unfair to the high scorers,” said Muzaffar Khan, a Thane-based medical education counsellor.