Sky-high fees leave 836 MBBS seats empty in final counselling round

Chennai: Deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have priced out 824 of their MBBS seats, which stayed empty in the final round of all-India counselling. These seats, which come with an annual fee ranging from ₹23 lakh to ₹35 lakh, went unfilled even though 11 lakh candidates cleared the NEET-2026 qualifying cut-off.

The seats will stay vacant because the admission process is over. Unless, of course, the govt decides to allow a mop up round.

Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) conducts counselling for 15% of seats in state govt medical colleges and for all seats in central institutions and deemed universities. This year, its stray round opened with 3,426 MBBS vacancies, including 1,171 all-India quota seats.

Of these, 837 went unallotted. One is at AIIMS Madurai, and 12 are at Chettinad Institute in Kolar, Karnataka.

The remaining 824 are in 14 deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Four colleges, each with 250 MBBS seats, account for most of the empty seats.

Shri Sathya Sai Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai tops the list with 188 vacant — 75%. Meenakshi Medical College and Research Institute in Kancheepuram has 117 (47%), Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute in Puducherry has 92 (37%), and Sree Balaji Medical College in Chromepet has 82 (33%).

Several other colleges in and around Chennai also have vacancies, including SRM Medical College and Research Institute, Saveetha Medical College and Chettinad Medical College and Research Institute. Deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry charge ₹23 lakh to ₹35 lakh a year.

Elsewhere in India the average is ₹22.68 lakh. Maharashtra’s deemed universities, where all seats are filled, the average fee is ₹24.58 lakh.

In Karnataka’s it is ₹20.85 lakh. Over a 4.5-year course, the gap between Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the rest of the country comes to about ₹21 lakh, consultants say.“Fee-hungry institutions must take the blame,” said DMK Rajya Sabha MP P Wilson.

“It’s time the Union ministry caps fees on deemed universities. Fees in deemed universities range from ₹18 lakh to ₹35 lakh across India.

Without a cap on tuition, institutions raise fees every year. It’s profiteering.”Wilson also pointed to a shortage of allopathic doctors.

India has 13 lakh registered allopathic doctors. “The Union health ministry says the doctor-population ratio of 1:811 beats the WHO norm of 1:1,000, but it gets there by counting 7.5 lakh AYUSH practitioners.

We needs more modern medicine practioners,” he said. Some high-fee colleges managed to fill their seats, but their closing ranks fell sharply.

At Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, the cut-off rank dropped from 7.3 lakh to 10.68 lakh. “Seats in this college usually fill by the third round.

This year, students with minimum scores got in at the stray round. Those with better marks haven’t opted because they can’t pay this fee.

It defeats the spirit of NEET,” said Manickavel Arumugam, who counsels students on medical admissions.. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Chennai | Silver Rate in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai | Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Petrol Price in Chennai | Diesel Price in Chennai | CNG Price in Chennai | LPG Price in Chennai Stay updated with the latest Chennai news.

Key quotes

• “Fee-hungry institutions must take the blame,”

• “It’s time the Union ministry caps fees on deemed universities. Fees in deemed universities range from ₹18 lakh to ₹35 lakh across India. Without a cap on tuition, institutions raise fees every year. It’s profiteering.”

• “The Union health ministry says the doctor-population ratio of 1:811 beats the WHO norm of 1:1,000, but it gets there by counting 7.5 lakh AYUSH practitioners. We needs more modern medicine practioners,”

• “Seats in this college usually fill by the third round. This year, students with minimum scores got in at the stray round. Those with better marks haven’t opted because they can’t pay this fee. It defeats the spirit of NEET,”