Ahmedabad: More than 32,000 nursing and other paramedical seats are vacant across Gujarat even after the third round of admissions, raising concerns.Admission Committee for Professional Medical Educational Courses (ACPMEC) has completed seat allotment to over 10 paramedical programmes, including nursing, physiotherapy, audiology and ophthalmic courses for the third round. Admissions are being conducted for a total of 53,206 seats.According to official data, 6,372 new candidates secured admissions in the third round. Besides, 486 received upgraded allotments compared to the second round, while 13,997 candidates retained seats allotted earlier. In all, 20,855 students have been allotted seats so far. They have been asked to confirm their admissions by paying fees and completing formalities by Oct 9.The final number of vacant seats will be known after the confirmation deadline expires. Currently, 32,351 seats remain unfilled. Several colleges have reported extremely poor enrolment, with some institutions failing to attract even double-digit numbers of students.The vacancy is particularly severe in nursing courses. The Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) programme has 8,409 vacant seats, while the General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) course has 12,593 vacancies, the highest among all programmes.In the state, more than 150 new colleges are reportedly awaiting approval, which could further increase paramedical education capacity and also widen the gap between students interested in the courses and seat availability.
