More seats sought for students from state in medical, dental courses

 This academic year, 551 medical seats in the state are up for grabs for students from outside the state.

Counselling for medical and dental seats is being conducted by the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) based on the ranks in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
According to the seat matrix on the KEA website, 551 seats in private colleges are in the open quota and they will be allotted based on the NEET ranks. Students from the state and outside will compete for these seats.

Parents and candidates say Karnataka students have to compete with students from the North with better ranks and they are less likely to get these seats. “Since the allotment is on the basis of ranks, only about 20 students from the state may be able to get these seats,” parents say.

More than 22,000 candidates from outside the state have applied to take part in the counselling process.

“Many states have only given the mandatory All India quota seats for central counselling and the remaining seats are available only for students of their own state. So students from Karnataka cannot apply in other states like Maharashtra and Kerala, but they can apply here,” one parent said.

Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil said Karnataka was ahead of other states in reserving most seats for its students. “About 70% of all MBBS seats have been kept aside for candidates from Karnataka. We cannot keep all the seats for students from the state. After giving 15% of seats for the All India quota, Tamil Nadu government had kept aside 85% of the seats for its students. This move was struck down by the Tamil Nadu High Court,” he said.