Ahmedabad: Postgraduate seats in medical courses such as MD and MS are highly coveted. However, this year, 48 seats in private medical colleges for courses ranging from radiology to gynaecology and orthopaedics to paediatrics are vacant. Experts say fees at private colleges are among the chief reasons for the vacancies. The fees for some courses for vacant seats include Rs 61 lakh for radiology, Rs 47 lakh for dermatology, Rs 45 lakh for orthopaedics, Rs 45 lakh for gynaecology, Rs 44 lakh for paediatrics, Rs 44 lakh for surgery, and Rs 28 lakh for emergency medicine.According to experts, the current figure represents one of the highest numbers of vacant PG seats in recent years.All the seats are in privately run medical colleges, said officials. The details of vacant seats under the all-India quota in Gujarat will be released soon. The state’s admission committee has already completed four rounds of admission, and the admission process was officially declared over on Feb 28, said sources.This year, the process continued for about two months.Experts point to the addition of seats at various medical colleges — both govt and private — after the second rounds of admissions, following directives from the National Medical Commission (NMC).The move, while adding more seats for the PG medical aspirants, reportedly also caused a discrepancy. Those who were behind in the merit list got to choose from govt colleges and courses with relatively higher merit compared to those who had already locked in their selection in the first two rounds based on the available seats.The state had 5,900 medical students who qualified through NEET-PG against 3,425 seats available in the state-based medical colleges.The number also includes 800 all-India quota seats. Against the earlier merit of 50%, the revised merit required 110 marks for the open quota and 0 for some categories.Dr Akash Patel has got a seat for the PG course in orthopaedics at a South Gujarat medical college. He said that he secured the seat after two rounds of admissions.“Afterwards, the new seats were added. It resulted in several students who were behind in the merit list getting better colleges and courses,” he said. “Many students who had already secured admission did not opt for the cancellation and re-admission as it would require both time and money in terms of transfer fees.”He added that while it is a welcome move to add more seats, those who have already secured admission during earlier rounds should be given the opportunity to reconsider their admission choices.The dean of a prominent medical college in Gujarat told TOI on condition of anonymity that the overall pool has about 1,200 seats in govt-run medical colleges across the country. “The vacancies have been recorded in private institutions, and high fees could be one of the reasons,” said the dean.Admission committee officials also said that the number in core medical course seats is one of the highest in recent years. While some seats remain vacant in courses such as pharmacology, community medicine, and forensic medicine, the chances are very low that the branches such as orthopaedics, radiology, or surgery will remain vacant.
