40% MBBS seats in 5 states; 10.6 students compete for one medical seat in TS: Stats of India
According to data compiled by Stats of India, of the 83,275 MBBS seats in India, 40% seats are concentrated in the five southern states of Karnataka (9,345 seats), Maharashtra (9,000 seats), Tamil Nadu (8,000 seats), Telangana (5,240 seats), and Andhra Pradesh (5,210 seats).
By Nimisha S Pradeep Published on 5 March 2022 12:38 PM GMT
Hyderabad: Dhanunjay from Bommagundanahalli village in Anantapur went to Ukraine to pursue medicine in 2019. He had scored good marks in both his 10th and 12th but unfortunately, he could not clear the NEET exam on his first attempt. He wanted to try a second time but his parents didn't want him to lose a year.
In Anantapur, barring one government medical college, there are very few private medical colleges. Moreover, education in these private colleges is way beyond the students' reach. "It costs Rs. 50 to 70 lakh (and even Rs. 1 crore). My family could not afford it. My friends who could afford it are continuing their studies in those colleges now," says Dhanunjay.
He also points out that reservation is also a problem as sometimes students who score well are unable to get through because the priority is for students from some other category.
Compared to medical seats in Anantapur or even Kurnool or Nellore, there are more options in the nearby states like Karnataka, says Dhanunjay who had also applied to colleges in Bangalore.
It was his cousin brother who told him about Bogomolets National Medical University in Ukraine. "We didn't know much about it. So, my parents sought the help of some professional agents to send me to Ukraine to pursue medicine," says Dhanunjay who is now in his third year of medical education.
Priyanka, a third-year medical student at Ivano Frankivsk National Medical University in Ukraine, says that there are only six medical colleges in her district of Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. Priyanka, a resident of Madanapalle village in Chittoor, says it is way cheaper to study in a college in Ukraine compared to a private college in India. "In India, we have to pay Rs. 1 crore to Rs.1.5 crore in private colleges whereas in Ukraine, it is around Rs. 16 lakh to complete the six-year course," says Priyanka.
Unequal distribution of seats
According to data compiled by Stats of India, of the 83,275 MBBS seats in India, 40% seats are concentrated in the five southern states of Karnataka (9,345 seats), Maharashtra (9,000 seats), Tamil Nadu (8,000 seats), Telangana (5,240 seats), and Andhra Pradesh (5,210 seats). It is true that out of the 15.9 lakh applicants all over India, 30% come from these five states.
However, in other states, there is a high disproportion in the number of medical seats and the number of applicants. With 15.9 lakh applicants and 83,275 medical seats, 19 applicants compete for a medical seat in India every year. However, it is much higher in states like Arunachal Pradesh or Meghalaya where 75.1 students and 61.2 students compete for a single MBBS seat. It is important to note that both these states have only 50 medical seats each.
Pratap Vardhan from Stats of India points out that a bulk of the seats are concentrated in just five states. "Now if more seats are introduced and if they are skewed towards just a few states, it will be of no use," says Pratap.
Considering Dhanunjay's case, it is also important to ask how evenly these medical colleges are spread across the districts of these five southern states.
Telangana and AP
Considering the number of applicants, 10.6 students compete for a medical seat in Telangana whereas in AP, 11.9 students compete for one medical seat. For every 100 applicants, there are 9.4 MBBS seats in Telangana whereas in AP, there are 8.4 medical seats for every 100 applicants.
Govt. vs private colleges
An important reason why students migrate is the exorbitant fees in private medical colleges. According to the National Medical Commission, in Telangana, there are 34 medical colleges out of which 11 are government colleges and 23 are private colleges. In Andhra Pradesh, there are 31 medical colleges out of which 13 are government colleges and 18 are private colleges.
In Telangana, out of the 5,240 medical seats, only 1,790 are government seats. The remaining 3,450 are in private colleges. In Andhra Pradesh, it's almost 50-50. Out of the 5,210 medical seats, 2,410 are in government colleges and 2,800 are in private colleges.
According to Stats of India, every year the country produces only six new doctors for every one lakh population. "If we need more doctors, we need to have more colleges," says Pratap.
Since 2013-14, there has been a 60% increase in medical seats from 52,000 in 2013-14 to 84,000 in 2021-22. But the question now is how evenly it is distributed across states, districts, and even the remotest villages in the country so that all students get equal opportunity.
Maps: Pratap Vardhan, Stats of India
