More MBBS seats for EWS in 8 govt medical colleges 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state government has decided to implement 10 per cent quota for students from the economically weaker section (EWS) for MBBS course in government medical colleges from the current academic year. There will be an increase of at least 288 seats in eight government medical colleges. 

Thiruvananthapuram Medical College, Kottayam Medical College and Alappuzha Medical College will get 50 seats each, Ernakulam Medical College, Manjeri Medical College, Yakkara Medical College in Palakkad and Parippally Medical College in Kollam will get 25 seats each.

The Thrissur Medical College will get 38 seats, Director of Medical Education Ramla Beevi A said on Wednesday. Thrissur Medical College may even get as many as 50 additional seats in the final allotment.
The government had put forward the proposal before the Medical Council of India (MCI) regarding quota implementation. Kozhikode Medical College was excluded as it already has 250 seats, the limit set by the MCI to allow reservation in the first phase. 

As the 10 per cent quota for EWS is over and above the existing quotas for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes, it would require increasing the number of existing seats by 25 per cent. The medical counselling committee (MCC) will include the additional seats for counselling based on the proposal received by MCI.

Private medical colleges have been exempted from the proposal given to MCI. “Students from the economically weaker section may not be able to afford the fees in private colleges. We will submit a fresh proposal if the government decides to include private colleges at a later stage,” said the officer. The government had fixed the fees for students in private colleges at Rs 6.5 lakh in government seats.

The last date for submitting the proposal before MCI expired on June 11. MCI has extended the last date for submitting application forms from June 7 to June 11, to include the concerns raised by various states.