Vacancies Persist Despite Expansion: Over 2,849 MBBS Seats Remained Unfilled in 2024–25

The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare confirmed that 2,849 MBBS seats were left unfilled in the 2024-25 academic year. This article explores the reasons behind this issue, from high fees to counselling complexities.

Despite a significant 39% surge in MBBS seats across India over the last five years, a concerning number of undergraduate medical seats continue to go unfilled annually. According to data presented in the Lok Sabha by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Anupriya Patel, a total of 2,849 MBBS seats remained vacant in the academic year 2024-25. This revelation, made during the Parliament's monsoon session, underscores a persistent paradox within the country's medical education system: while the demand for medical education is at an all-time high, systemic challenges prevent the full utilization of available capacity.

The government's data, which excludes seats at prestigious institutions like AIIMS and JIPMER, highlights a consistent trend of vacancies. The numbers have fluctuated over the past four academic years: 2,012 vacant seats in 2021-22, a peak of 4,146 in 2022-23, followed by 2,959 in 2023-24, and now 2,849 in the most recent academic year. While the total number of seats has grown from 83,275 in 2020-21 to 1,15,900 in 2024-25, this expansion has not fully translated into a corresponding increase in filled seats. This situation raises serious questions about accessibility, affordability, and the efficiency of the admission processes.

The Driving Forces Behind the Vacancies

The reasons for these persistent vacancies are multifaceted and rooted in the structure of the medical education and counselling system. While the government has made commendable efforts to increase seats, particularly in underserved regions through a centrally sponsored scheme, several factors contribute to the problem:

1. Prohibitive Cost of Private Medical Education: The most significant reason is the high fee structure of private and deemed medical colleges, where the majority of these vacant seats are located. While government medical colleges have minimal fees, private institutions can charge anywhere from ₹10 lakh to over ₹25 lakh annually. Despite a large number of aspirants clearing the NEET-UG exam, many are unable to secure a seat due to financial constraints, leaving these expensive seats unclaimed. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued guidelines to cap the fees for 50% of seats in private medical colleges at par with government institutions, but the implementation of this regulation has been slow and inconsistent across states.
2. Counselling Process Complexities: The intricate and multi-layered counselling process is another major factor. The system, which involves both a central All India Quota (AIQ) and separate state-level counselling, can be confusing for candidates. Students often hold onto seats in multiple rounds, hoping for a better college or a more preferred specialty, before eventually dropping out. This can lead to seats becoming vacant at the final stages of counselling, with little time left to re-allot them.
3. Disparity in Quality and Infrastructure: Students prioritize colleges with a strong reputation, experienced faculty, and superior infrastructure. Many of the newly established or lower-ranked colleges, particularly those in remote areas, may struggle to attract top candidates due to a perceived lack of quality education or clinical exposure. This leads to a concentration of demand for seats in top-tier colleges, while others are left with empty seats. The NMC has introduced 'Minimum Standard Requirements–2023' to ensure quality, but it will take time for the new colleges to build a reputation and attract students.
4. Last-Minute Dropouts and Procedural Lapses: Last-minute dropouts, often due to a student securing a better seat in another state's counselling process or deciding to pursue a different career path, contribute to the problem. Procedural delays in document verification and a lack of real-time seat matrix updates further exacerbate the issue, making it difficult for the counselling bodies to re-allot the seats efficiently.

Government Initiatives and a Way Forward

In her statement, Minister Patel highlighted several government initiatives to address these issues. The establishment of 157 new medical colleges and the upgrading of 75 super-speciality projects under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) are testaments to the government's commitment to strengthening healthcare infrastructure.

However, medical education experts argue that a paradigm shift from focusing solely on the quantity of seats to ensuring their effective utilization is necessary. This would involve:

• Strict enforcement of NMC's fee guidelines to make private medical education more affordable.
• Streamlining the counselling process through better inter-state coordination and transparent, real-time seat allocation.
• Investing in faculty development and infrastructure in new and remote colleges to make them more attractive to aspirants.

The persistent vacancies in a country with a severe doctor-to-population ratio represent a missed opportunity. The challenge for the government and regulatory bodies now is not just to create more seats but to ensure that every deserving aspirant has a fair chance to fill them, thereby bolstering the nation's healthcare workforce for the future.