Tamil Nadu eyes 700 more medical seats in govt-run colleges Read more: Tamil Nadu eyes 700 more medical seats in govt-run colleges - The Times of I

CHENNAI: Here is good news for medical aspirants. Tamil Nadu is working on increasing MBBS seats by a whopping 700 in the government colleges. The state has already got sanction for 270 more post-graduate medical seats.

The directorate of medical education is expecting sanction from the Medical Council of India to admit 100 students each in two new colleges in Tiruvarur and Villupuram the coming academic year. Also in the pipeline is a detailed proposal demanding increase in the number of seats in the existing colleges.

"We have 15 government medical colleges and we want to increase the medical seats in these colleges. For instance, in the Madras and Madurai Medical colleges we want to increase the seats from 165 to 265. In Chengalpet Medical College, we want to increase seats from 50 to 150. In other colleges we're looking at hiking seats from 100 to 150. This is based on parameters including bed strength, patient-doctor ratio and specialties," says director of medical education Dr S Vinayagam.

The directorate until last year offered 1,483 of the 1,745 medical seats in 15 medical colleges to students residing in Tamil Nadu during the single window counselling, leaving the remaining 15% to the all India quota. If the MCI approves two new medical colleges, the seats will go up to 1,653 in June. The selection committee, which is responsible for admitting students, hopes to add another 500 seats during the second phase of counselling.

In the self-financing colleges category, the number of colleges is expected to go up by at least one, which will increase the number of seats by another 85 from the existing 285.

What seems to have impressed doctors and academicians is that there has been an increase in the post-graduate medical seats. Of the 270 post-graduate (degree, diploma and super specialty) seats, the state selection committee will display 135 seats leaving 50% to the all India quota. In February, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the health ministry's proposal to add more post-graduate seats in 148 state run medical colleges. Tamil Nadu sent its proposal and was sanctioned 270 seats. "Till now, we have had only 998 post-graduate seats. We have increased seats in fields like general surgery, general medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery and neonatology," said health secretary VK Subburaj.

Read more: Tamil Nadu eyes 700 more medical seats in govt-run colleges - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Tamil-Nadu-eyes-700-more-medical-seats-in-govt-run-colleges/articleshow/5692148.cms#ixzz0ztbjKzco