Hyderabad: As many as 520 additional medical seats would be made available to Telangana students from this academic year thanks to the state government’s decision to scrap 15 per cent “unreserved” category for which students from Andhra and Rayalaseema had been allowed, till now.
The new rule of admission, however, will be implemented in 36 medical colleges set up in the state post bifurcation. The “unreserved” category seats will continue in 20 old colleges including Gandhi, Osmania and Kakatiya (Warangal) but only till 2024 by which time the 10-year status quo under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 would cease to exist.
This was the third major reform in admission process initiated by minister T. Harish Rao after taking charge of the health portfolio following the ouster of Etala Rajendar. Earlier, he brought 85 per cent quota for locals in the B category seats in private medical colleges and strictly enforced the rule of reservation that highly benefited students from the Backward Classes and Scheduled Caste communities.
In undivided AP, the President’s order was in vogue according to which 85 per cent seats were reserved for locals of respective regions – Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana — and all students of the three regions were allowed to compete for seats in the 15 per cent “unreserved” quota.
The admission procedure was continued even for the new colleges that were set up after 2014 because of which a large number of students from Andhra Prdesh secured seats in Telangana, thereby denying opportunity to the locals. The faulty implementation of the rule of reservation also denied 100-150 seats to local BC and SC community students who lost seats to students from Andhra and Rayalaseema.
As per the present amendment, 85 per cent seats in 36 new medical colleges will be reserved only for locals and 15 per cent for “all India quota”. Telangana also achieved another record of adding the highest number of seats in government medical colleges. “Of the total 2,118 seats added in the country 900 are in Telangana which is 43 per cent,” said Harish Rao in a tweet.
