With fewer seats available in the general pool as per the seat matrix released by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), officials attributed the reduction in numbers to two reasons: inability of some medical colleges to get the Medical Council of India’s (MCI) nod, and the lack of information about seats in some private engineering colleges and universities.
Among the colleges that are missing from the seat matrix for MBBS course are Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) Medical College, Bangalore and Gulbarga, which have been denied permission by the MCI.
The MCI also refused permission for increasing intake by 100 seats each in the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) and the Mysore Medical College and Research Institute, and by 50 seats each in the government colleges in Hubli and Bellary.
KEA officials said that seats in Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, Tadikela Subbaiah Medical College, Shimoga, Shridevi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Hospital, Tumkur, BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangalore, have not been added to the matrix.
The State government’s plan to start six new government colleges has also not materialised as the MCI is yet to give its report on them. As for engineering courses, seats from colleges such as PES Institute of Technology, Banashankari, and Reva University are yet to be added to the matrix.
According to a release, 24,668 of the 69,253 candidates registered as by 6 p.m. on Sunday, while 15,303 entered over 5.12 lakh options.
