These changes were made in accordance with AP Reorganisation Act and Article 371(D), and will apply to colleges established after June 2014.
Published Jul 05, 2023 | 3:21 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 05, 2023 | 3:21 PM
Previously, only 85 percent of the seats were reserved for local students, while the remaining 15 percent were unreserved. (Creative Commons)
The Telangana government on Tuesday, 4 July, announced that all seats under the “Competent Authority Quota” in medical colleges — established after 2 June, 2014 — would be reserved exclusively for students from the state.
The move comes into effect after a significant amendment to the Telangana State Medical Colleges Admission Rules, and is good news for aspiring medical students in the state.
These amendment has been made in accordance with the AP Reorganisation Act and Article 371(D) of the Constitution.
“Competent Authority” here means the vice-chancellor of the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), Warangal. The Competent Authority controls 85 percent of the total seats in the state’s medical colleges — the remaining 15 percent comes under the All India Quota and is open to students from across the country.
Previously, out of seats controlled by the Competent Authority, 85 percent were reserved for local students, while the remaining 15 percent were unreserved — allowing students from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to compete.
While the Telangana medical colleges that existed before 2014 (when the state was bifurcated) will continue with this practice, those set up after 2 June, 2014 — that is, by the newly-formed state — will reserve all the seats under the Competent Authority for local students.
Before the bifurcation, there were 20 medical colleges in the Telangana region. Since 2014, 36 new medical colleges have come up in the state.
The amendment applies to these new colleges, barring two that are directly under the Union government — AIIMS, Bibinagar, and ESIC, Sanathnagar.
With this latest decision, Telangana students will now have a greater chance of securing MBBS seats, with 520 additional medical seats becoming available to local students.
“Before the formation of Telangana, there were a total of 20 medical colleges, including both government and private institutions. However, this number has now increased to 56, significantly expanding the availability of medical education opportunities. Previously, Telangana had 2,850 MBBS seats, but this number has now risen to 8,340 seats,” said Health Minister T Harish Rao in a statement.
“Among the 2,850 seats available in the 20 medical colleges prior to the formation of Telangana, 1,895 seats were allocated under the Competent Authority quota. Within this quota, 15 percent were unreserved seats, totalling 280 seats. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh students had the opportunity to compete for these seats. Unfortunately, this often resulted in Telangana students losing their rightful seats,” it noted.
To address this issue, the Telangana government amended the rules by restricting the unreserved quota to only the 20 old medical colleges, while exempting the 36 new medical colleges from this provision. As a result, 520 medical seats became available to Telangana students.
It is important to note that Telangana students were already benefitting from the existing local reservation policy, which reserved 85 percent of MBBS B-category seats — the management quota — for them, amounting to 1,300 seats.
With these two important decisions taken by the Telangana government, a total of 1,820 seats will be available annually.
“It is indeed positive news for students in Telangana,” Dr K Mahesh Kumar, president of the Healthcare Reforms Doctors’ Association, told South First.
“In 2014, there were attempts by the universities and the government to evade a situation that students from Andhra Pradesh challenged in court. The court acknowledged a special circumstance. Now, this order applies to certain colleges — particularly new ones. It exempts them from the legal obligation of adhering to Article 371(D) (which granted special status to united Andhra Pradesh),” he noted.
The Telangana Health Department on Tuesday said that in addition to enhancing super-speciality services, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao had taken the initiative to establish government medical colleges in each district of Telangana with the aim of providing quality healthcare services and medical education to local students.
“With the additional allocation of medical seats exclusively for Telangana students, the government has demonstrated its commitment to the advancement of medical education,” said Harish Rao.
“Since the formation of Telangana, the healthcare sector has witnessed remarkable growth, exemplified by the establishment of district-level medical colleges, while simultaneously ensuring greater opportunities for Telangana students. I urge students in Telangana to seize this golden opportunity,” he claimed.
He also said that 43 percent of all new MBBS seats in the country were from Telangana.
“Proud to share that 43 percent of MBBS seats newly added in government medical colleges in India are from #Telangana. 900 of the 2118 MBBS seats increased in government medical colleges in India for 2023-24 belongs to Telangana This is the testament to Hon’ble CM KCR’s vision of #ArogyaTelangana wherein Medical Education is thriving. These numbers will further go up once the remaining medical colleges get approval [sic],” Harish Rao.
Proud to share that 43% of MBBS seats newly added in government medical colleges in India are from #Telangana.
900 of the 2118 MBBS seats increased in government medical colleges in India for 2023-24 belongs to Telangana
This is the testament to Hon’ble CM KCR’s vision of…
— Harish Rao Thanneeru (@BRSHarish) July 4, 2023
