Students can qualify, but cannot pay: Doctor on why private MBBS seats lying vacant
India Today · India Today Education Desk ·
Thousands of MBBS seats remain vacant despite intense competition for medical admissions The vacancies highlight growing concerns over private medical education costs and affordability A post on X by Dr Sumer Sethi has reopened a bigger debate are young Indians losing interest in medicine or are the costs making the dream increasingly unaffordable
Thousands of MBBS seats remain vacant despite intense competition for medical admissions. The vacancies highlight growing concerns over private medical education costs and affordability. A post on X by Dr Sumer Sethi has reopened a bigger debate: are young Indians losing interest in medicine, or are the costs making the dream increasingly unaffordable?
India's medical education system is facing an unusual contradiction. As many as 3,426 MBBS seats remained vacant after the third round of all-India counselling for NEET UG 2026. The vacancy number last year was 802 at the same stage, but this year it is five times more. Even after the stray vacancy round, 837 seats reportedly remained unfilled across Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka.
In a post on X, Dr Sumer Sethi, radiologist, medical educator and founder of the Delhi Academy of Medical Sciences (DAMS) said that the vacancies have prompted some private medical colleges to offer tuition fee discounts of up to 40% to attract students.
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