State set to lose 200 medical seats

The State is likely to lose 200 seats in two medical colleges after the Medical Council of India (MCI) stopped admission to Bidar Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS) and Raichur Institute of Medical Colleges (RIMS) for the ensuing academic year.

According to official information here, the MCI had ordered these colleges not to admit students for the first year MBBS courses this year citing failure on the part of the colleges to fulfil council norms. The MCI had also turned down the proposal to increase the intake from existing 150 to 250 in Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute and 150 to 200 seats in Mysore Medical College and Research Institute.

Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil, who was here on Sunday, admitted that the BIMS and RIMS would not be able to admit the students this year. He, however said that there was no need to panic since the State was in the process of persuading the MCI to reverse its decision.

Dr. Patil told

The Hindu that the government was sending the Principal Secretary of the Medical Education Department and the Director of Medical Education to New Delhi immediately to meet MCI officials and plead the State’s case for allowing the admissions in these two medical colleges. The officials would give an undertaking that all conditions stipulated by the MCI would be complied with immediately and request it to allow the admissions to the two colleges pending compliance of the conditions imposed by the MCI.

The government would also request the MCI to reconsider its decision on not allowing increased intake in the medical colleges in Bangalore and Mysore.

Terming the MCI decision as “unfortunate”, Dr. Patil said this would deny an opportunity to meritorious students from the economically weaker sections to pursue the MBBS at affordable cost. “We are doing everything possible within our reach to persuade the MCI to reverse its decision……we will also hold discussions with Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad.”

Dr Patil said that the seat matrix for the medical seats in CET would be fixed after knowing the response from the MCI on the State's plea.