Chennai, July 9:
The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) on Wednesday alleged that Tamil Nadu has lost nearly 700 MBBS seats under the government quota following the conversion of several private medical colleges into deemed-to-be universities, a move the party said would severely impact students from poor and middle-class backgrounds.
PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss stated that the transition of private medical institutions to deemed university status has significantly reduced the number of seats available under the state quota, thereby limiting access to affordable medical education.
According to him, three colleges — including St Peter’s Medical College, Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Medical College and Srinivasan Medical College in Chennai — have already been granted deemed university status. This shift has resulted in the loss of around 350 government-quota MBBS seats that were previously accessible to students through the state counselling system.
Dr Ramadoss further claimed that three more private medical colleges, including Karpaga Vinayaga Medical College at Maduranthakam, are likely to be converted into deemed universities in the near future. If implemented, this would lead to an additional loss of approximately 350 government-quota seats.
Expressing concern over the shrinking availability of affordable medical seats, the PMK leader urged the Tamil Nadu government to take immediate corrective measures. He proposed increasing intake capacity by 50 MBBS seats each in 16 government medical colleges that currently admit only 100 students annually.
He emphasised that expanding seats in government institutions is crucial not only to offset the loss but also to ensure equitable access to medical education for economically weaker sections.
The PMK’s demand comes amid growing concerns over the affordability of medical education, particularly as deemed universities typically charge significantly higher fees compared to government institutions.