PUDUCHERRY: As in the previous years, the seven self-financing medical colleges in the Union Territory have surrendered 265 seats to CENTAC this year.
Out of a total of 900 medical seats, 265 were given to Centralised Admission Committee for Admission to Professional Degree Courses (CENTAC), Chief Minister N Rangasamy told Express.
This was decided during the seat-sharing talks held between the government and the representatives of the self-financing colleges in the UT under the chairmanship of the CM on Thursday.
The 265 seats offered constitute 29.44 per cent of the total seats in the self-financing colleges. However, the break-up of seats for each medical college has not been provided by government.
This is because the representatives of Sri Lakshminarayana Institute of Medical Sciences (SLIMS) and Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) did not participate in the meeting and no one signed the seat-sharing agreement on behalf of the two colleges.
As per the seat rotation formula, this year, both the institutions would have to surrender one seat more than they did the previous year. Without their written concurrence,the government could not release the break-up, sources said.
However, the CM said the pattern would be almost similar to the previous year.
The seat adjustmentis done among the colleges themselves. The four deemed medical colleges have been providing 122 seats, which is 24.4 per cent of the total seats, while the other three colleges under Pondicherry University is surrendering 143 seats, which is 35.75 per cent of its total seats.
As per the existing formula the Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute - 36 seats (150), Sri Lakshminaraya Institute of Medical Sciences -37 (150 total seats), Arupadai Veedu Medical College - 24(100), Vinayaga Mission Medical College -25 (100), Pondicherry Institute of Medical Sciences - 37 (100), Sri Manakula Vinayaga Medical College and Hospital - 53 (150), Venkateswara Medical College -53(150) would be surrendered to the government pool.
However, in the past two years, the self-financing colleges had surrendered 264 seats, one seat less than what they had agreed. The CENTAC also filled up 264 seats allotted by the medical colleges, said secretary (health) G Ragesh Chandra. This is on account of ambiguity on seat allotment to the government among the deemed universities, sources said.