970 more seats for Maharashtra medical aspirants

The decision was taken to accommodate more students in undergraduate medical colleges amidst the inclusion of new quotas this year

In good news for undergraduate medical aspirants in the country, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has announced supernumerary seats in government medical colleges (GMC) across the country. In Maharashtra, 970 supernumerary seats have been added in 20 GMCs.

The announcement brought relief to parents and students across the state (HT File)

The decision was taken to accommodate more students in undergraduate medical colleges amidst the inclusion of new quotas this year. Supernumerary seats are the number of new seats added under special circumstances if there are more number of candidates as compared to the available seats. The allotment of seats under the various quotas will now be decided after taking into consideration the newly-added seats.

While the Medical Council of India (MCI) had already accepted proposals of new colleges, the Board of Governors of the MCI (BoG-MCI) had proposed an increase in the number of MBBS seats under the economically weaker section (EWS) quota for the academic year 2019-20.

“After carefully considering the matter, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare accepted the proposal of BoG-MCI and hereby directs the counselling authorities of states/UTs/All India quota for filling up the MBBS seats under the EWS quota for the 2019-20 academic year,” states the circular uploaded on the Government of India website, late on Friday.

The announcement brought relief to parents and students across the state, especially at a time when post graduate medical students from the open category have had to suffer to find a seat in a course of their choice after the implementation of the Socially and Economically Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, which reserves 16% seats for students from the Maratha community. “While the inclusion of a new quota does put more pressure on open category candidates, adding supernumerary seats will hopefully ease the pressure and the competition now,” said Madhvi Pandya, a parent.

The Centre’s announcement comes days after state medical education minister announced more than 2,000 medical seats will be added to colleges in Maharashtra by 2020 to accommodate more students, including those under the SEBC quota.

However, some parents are also worried that this move might be a political stint. “While officials were suggesting that more students will be offered admission this year, we hope the government stands by this decision and makes the admissions process less stressful for our children,” said Sudha Shenoy, parent.