The Telangana government recently inaugurated nine government medical colleges, pushing the State’s total count to 28. However, the ambitious plan for the upcoming year of 2024-25, involving the inauguration of eight new medical colleges, now hangs in the balance due to recent guidelines issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
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The NMC, through its ‘Undergraduate Medical Education Board’ notification released on August 16, has stipulated that “medical colleges shall follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10 lakh population in that State and Union Territory.”
According to the 2011 census data, Telangana’s population stands at 3.5 crore. By NMC standards, this would mean the state should have only 3,500 MBBS seats. However, as of September 2023, Telangana houses a total of 56 medical colleges — 28 government and 28 private — with a combined offering of 8,515 MBBS seats, 3,915 in government institutions and 4,600 in private ones. Remarkably, this results in 243.3 MBBS seats per 10 lakh population in the State. This cements Telangana’s position as the state with the highest number of medical seats in India relative to its population.
A senior official from the Telangana health department, speaking to The Hindu, expressed concern over the NMC’s guidelines. The official pointed out that several states have already exceeded the stipulated ratio, and the central government’s goal of establishing one medical college per district across the nation seems at odds with these constraints. “Furthermore, the doctor-population ratio in India is still very low in India compared to the western countries. With more doctors graduating each year, the skills can be utilised at state or national level. The Covid pandemic was an eye-opener on how much manpower we need to tackle such situations.” the official added.
Karnataka claims the second position with a total of 69 medical colleges (21 government and 48 private) and 11,595 MBBS seats (3,300 government and 8,295 private). Tamil Nadu follows with 74 medical colleges (38 government and 34 private) offering 11,600 MBBS seats (5,250 government and 6,350 private). Kerala maintains 33 medical colleges (12 government and 31 private) with 4,655 MBBS seats (1,755 government and 2,900 private), while Andhra Pradesh presents 33 medical colleges (14 government and 19 private) with 5,885 MBBS seats (2,635 government and 3,250 private).
In terms of MBBS seats per lakh population, Karnataka has 18.98, Tamil Nadu has 16.08, Kerala has 13.93, and Andhra Pradesh has 11.87 seats.
The NMC’s guidelines, if strictly enforced, would potentially limit the expansion of medical colleges across South India, where States have already surpassed the stipulated ratios.
Meanwhile, larger States like Maharashtra, with a population of 11.23 crore, possess 10,545 MBBS seats (9.38 per lakh population), while Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 19.98 crore, has only 9,903 MBBS seats (4.96 per lakh). Bihar, with a population of 10.4 crore, offers a mere 2,665 MBBS seats (2.56 per lakh population).
Doctors in the State express mixed sentiments regarding the NMC’s move. While some are critical of the guidelines, others emphasise the need for improving the quality of medical education and focus on increasing postgraduate (PG) seats rather than solely expanding undergraduate programs.
Dr. Mahesh Kumar, President of Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA), noted that faculty shortages and subpar infrastructure in government medical colleges could hinder the quality of medical education. He argued for a greater emphasis on increasing PG seats.
“Telangana also has a very high number of private medical colleges, the government should see that they are not increasing. Growth of government medical colleges can be taken as an achievement as more than the production of a medical graduate, it means that more services will be provided to the poor people,” said Dr B.N. Rao, President of Indian Medical Association Telangana State.
