Bengaluru: In a first in the past five years, as many as 191 seats in Karnataka’s medical colleges have remained vacant, with counselling drawing to a close on Monday night. Not a single medical seat was vacant in Karnataka in the past five years. This year, all BDS seats have been filled.Multiple efforts have been simultaneously launched in a bid to fill these management seats. The directorate of medical education (DME) has written to the National Medical Commission to lower the entry barrier so that candidates get a chance to pick a seat; colleges are offering deep discounts to sweeten the deal; and Karnataka Examinations Authority has called for a last-minute round, asking students to enter options by 5pm and report to colleges by 6pm. With this, seven rounds of counselling were conducted.After the second stray vacancy round on Sunday, a total of 273 medical seats remained vacant. KEA conducted two different rounds on Monday, where 84 medical seats were allotted.In the morning round, 62 medical and six dental seats were allotted. In the evening round, 22 medical and five dental seats were allotted, he said. In recent years, “this is the first time that allotments have been carried out across so many rounds”, said KEA executive director H Prasanna. “If Medical Counselling Committee grants further permission to fill the remaining vacant seats, KEA will conduct additional rounds of counselling and allot the seats accordingly,” he added.An often-overlooked key factor for sluggish uptake is that NRI quota was introduced in govt colleges last year. Fees in govt colleges are way cheaper than in private colleges.Karnataka has the highest number of MBBS seats in the country, with 15,395 on offer. In 2024, there were 9,282 seats in 65 colleges. In 2025, it rose to 10,559 in 66 colleges. With the govt planning to establish one medical college in every district, there are high chances the state will add more seats in the near future.Sujatha Rathod, director of medical education, said the cut-off percentile now is 50. “We’ve requested NMC to pare the percentile by a few points so that more students could make the cut,” she said, adding they sent a letter in this regard on Thursday.Every seat unfilled is lakhs of revenue lost. Many colleges are now offering seats for about Rs 80 lakh for 4.5 years, including hostel fees, much lower than what’s communicated to KEA at the beginning of admissions. Also, govt colleges offer NRI seats at Rs 25 lakh per annum. “It’s clear a large number of management seats would go vacant this year unless qualifying cutoff marks are lowered,” said Mithesh Kumar Moodukonaje, founder, National Pre University Students, Parents and Teachers Association.“Medical colleges run on NRI fees. It makes up for the subsidised fees of the other categories. It is important for colleges to have this category filled up,” said the owner of a medical college. While many seats came into the pool late, high fees for management quota is a deterrent. “Also, this generation is very particular about colleges they pick and they usually go by popular opinion,” added the DME.NRI quota in govt colleges is a story in itself. For instance, some 105 seats in 14 colleges are available at Rs 25 lakh per annum against nearly Rs 40 lakh per annum in private institutes. The NRI fee at MS Ramaiah Medical College, Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, and Sri Madhusudan Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research is prohibitively high.Some 24 lakh write entrance test for 1.4 lakh seats. “While the cream gets government seats, the rest of the students cannot afford a management-quota seat,” said Bhagavan BC, vice-chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, the umbrella university for all medical-related programmes. “We’ve no control over the management-quota free matrix. At best, we’ve been recommending private colleges to reduce fees,” he added.BOX:Colleges and largest number of vacant seatsCollege— Vacant seats—- Fees (in Rs)Srinivasa Institute of medical Research Centre: 32—- 29,75,000PES University Institute of Medical Sciences and Research: 26– 39,15,000Sri Chamundeshwari Medical College, hospital and research institute: 21— 31,01,950Bagalkote Medical College and research institute– 14— 25,09,350GR Medical college and reserach centre– 12— 27,11,950East Point College of Medical Sciences and Research Centre: 12— 37,11,950(Figures updated at 3pm, Monday)
