HYDERABAD: Has a degree in Bachelor in Dental Sciences (BDS) become the in-thing among professional courses in the state? In an unusual turn of events, the counselling for management quota seats in dental course which started on Friday afternoon went on till 3.30 am the next morning at PGRR Centre for Distance Education in Osmania University. These are the same seats and 70 per cent of which lie vacant every year. Students came in droves with family members to apply for BDS management quota seats, leaving the counselling centre congested and chaotic on Friday.
All the 350 seats in the management quota were filled on Friday. Officials of Kaloji Narayana Rao (KNR) University of Health Sciences, which is conducting the counselling were surprised, as there are still 237 seats vacant in the Convener quota, in which students from outside the state cannot apply. Vice-chancellor of KNR University Dr B Karunakar Reddy said, “Usually every year close to 70 per cent BDS seats remain vacant in the management quota after the first phase of counselling, which is what was expected this year as well. To our surprise all seats in the management quota were filled.”
Dr Reddy further said, “There might be various reasons behind the high demand for these seats this year. There were close to 100 students from other states who had also come for counselling. Almost all the dental colleges in Telangana are located in and around Hyderabad. That might be a reason why students from other states, including Andhra Pradesh where many BDS seats are still vacant, were ready to take up BDS under management quota in Telangana. Also, there has been a reduction of 500 MBBS seats in Telangana this year which must have resulted in an increase in MBBS aspirants applying for BDS under management quota.” August 9 is the last date for the students who have been allotted BDS management quota seats to report to their college.