Odisha loses 250 medical seats in three colleges

Following is a report from the TOI:

BHUBANESWAR: The state has lost a whopping 250 medical seats this academic year, latest data on the Medical Council of India (MCI) website shows.

The MCI recently denied permission for admitting students to Hi-Tech Medical College, Rourkela, and Sardar Rajas Medical College, Jaring (Kalahandi). The colleges had 100 seats each. Besides, the council slashed the number of seats at Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bhubaneswar, to 100 from 150.

Odisha Joint Entrance Examination (OJEE) committee chairman Tushar Nath has confirmed that there would be no admission in the two private colleges at Rourkela and Jaring this year.

Both the colleges, set up in public private partnership (PPP), are suffering from inadequate infrastructure. Students of Jaring are on an agitation seeking takeover of the college by the state government.

KIMS, part of a deemed university, conducts admission on its own. The Centre had granted permanent recognition to 100 MBBS seats at the college. In 2014-15, the health ministry gave its nod to a provisional increase of 50 seats based on MCI recommendations. However, the council did not renew its permit this year, reducing the number to 100 again.

The number of MBBS seats in the state now stands at 900. These include 550 at three government medical colleges at Cuttack, Burla and Berhampur, and 350 in three private medical colleges.