KURNOOL: The National Medical Commission has removed the upper ceiling on MBBS seats, a move that is expected to significantly benefit private medical colleges across the country, including Andhra Pradesh.
While the decision would help increase the number of doctors in the long run, medical experts and faculty have raised serious concerns over the quality of education in private institutions.
At present, AP has 19 private medical colleges with around 3,650 MBBS seats. Most colleges currently admit 150 students, while a few have a capacity of up to 200 seats. Earlier, increasing the seats required strict compliance with norms laid down by the Medical Council of India (MCI) and later the NMC, including adequate faculty, patient inflow, infrastructure and clinical exposure."Even under existing rules, several private colleges are struggling to provide proper teaching and clinical exposure. If the ceiling is removed, there is a risk of institutions inflating records to increase seats," said Dr Ala Venkateswarlu, president of the Medico Parents Association.
In some private colleges near Guntur and Vijayawada, outpatient numbers remain very low, sometimes comparable to a primary health centre. Limited patient inflow and fewer surgeries reduce practical learning opportunities for students.
Anatomy training is also affected, as several private colleges depend on government institutions for cadavers.
"If there are no patients and minimal clinical material, how will students learn medicine properly? Increasing seats without facilities will directly impact the quality of future doctors," a senior professor from Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) said.
Faculty shortage is another concern. Even government medical colleges, despite spending crores annually, are struggling to recruit assistant and associate professors. Experts say private colleges may find it even more difficult to maintain standards if seat numbers are increased without parallel investment in faculty and infrastructure.
"The decision may increase the number of doctors. But without strengthening infrastructure and teaching standards, it could dilute medical education and affect patient care in the future," a former vice-chancellor of the NTR University of Health Sciences said.
The decision is also expected to bring financial gains to private colleges.
Currently, 50 per cent of the seats fall under the convener quota with government fees; 35 per cent under management quota with annual fees of around `13.5 lakh; and 15 per cent under NRI quota with fees that are several times higher. An increase in total seats would proportionately raise the number of high-fee management and NRI seats.
At the same time, the move may help improve the doctor-population ratio.
As per norms of the WHO and NMC, there should be around 100 doctors per one lakh population, whereas AP currently has only about 55.
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AP Medical Education MBBS Seats Details
| Category | Number of Colleges | MBBS Seats |
| Government Colleges | 17 | 3400 |
| Private Colleges | 19 | 3650 |