Chennai: Deemed universities in TN and Puducherry priced out 824 of their MBBS seats, which stayed empty in final round of all-India counselling. With annual fee ranging from INR 23 lakh to 35 lakh, these seats went unfilled although 11 lakh candidates cleared NEET-2026 qualifying cut-off. The seats will stay vacant as the admission process is over. Unless, of course, the government decides to allow a mop-up round.
Medical Counselling Committee holds counselling for 15% of seats in state govt medical colleges and for all seats in central institutions and deemed universities. This year, its stray round opened with 3,426 MBBS vacancies, including 1,171 all-India quota seats. Of these, 837 went unallotted. One is at AIIMS Madurai, and 12 are at Chettinad Institute in Kolar, Karnataka. The remaining 824 are in 14 deemed universities in TN and Puducherry.
Four colleges, each with 250 MBBS seats, account for most empty seats. Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai tops with 188 vacant — 75%. Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute in Kancheepuram has 117 (47%), Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Puducherry has 92 (37%), and Sree Balaji Medical College, Chromepet has 82 (33%). SRM Medical College and Research Institute, Saveetha Medical College and Chettinad Medical College & Research Institute also have vacancies.
Deemed universities in TN and Puducherry charge INR 23 to 35 Lakh a year. Elsewhere in India, the average is INR 22.68 Lakh. In Maharashtra’s deemed universities, where all seats are filled, the average fee is INR 24.58 lakh. In Karnataka’s, it is INR 20.85 lakh. Over a 4.5-year course, the gap between TN and Puducherry and rest of India comes to about INR 21 Lakh, consultants say.
“Fee-hungry institutions must take the blame,” said DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson. “It’s time Union ministry caps fees on deemed universities. Their fees range from INR 18 to 35 lakh across India. Without a cap on tuition, institutions raise fees every year. It’s profiteering.”
Some high-fee colleges managed to fill their seats, but their closing ranks fell sharply. At Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, the cut-off rank dropped from 7.3 lakh to 10.68 lakh. “Those with better marks haven’t opted because they can’t pay this fee. It defeats the spirit of NEET,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students.
