THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Despite offering attractive incentives such as fee waivers and scholarships, private medical colleges in the state are facing challenges in filling non-clinical PG medical seats due to low demand.
As many as 28 seats in MD non-clinical subjects like pharmacology, physiology, pathology, biochemistry, and anatomy remain vacant, even though admissions for the 2024 academic year have concluded, according to a response to an RTI query.
Young doctors attribute the lack of interest in these courses to limited job prospects and poor return on investment.
The postgraduate medical entrance exam remains highly competitive, with fewer than 900 seats available for all PG courses (excluding in-service, minority, and NRI-quota seats). Aspiring doctors must secure a rank within the top 2,500 to qualify for the most popular clinical courses, which have fees upward of Rs 17 lakh per year.
Non-clinical PG courses, on the other hand, charge Rs 9 to Rs 10 lakh per year for the three-year programme. However, a representative from a private college, who wished to remain anonymous, explained that many colleges resort to aggressive marketing and offer fee waivers or scholarships to attract students.
Dr Ashik Basheer, state president of the General Practitioners Association (GPA), noted that private colleges typically fill non-clinical seats by canvassing aggressively.
“To secure a spot in a clinical PG course, one needs a NEET rank within the top 15,000. For non-clinical courses, however, simply qualifying for NEET is enough. These colleges often push offers of scholarships or fee waivers to fill seats,” he said. “Despite these attractive offers, many students hesitate to pursue these courses, as they don’t see much in terms of career prospects. On the other hand, colleges need non-clinical PGs to serve as tutors for MBBS students,” he added.
Kulathoor Jaisingh, a lawyer who filed the RTI request, raised concerns about the growing shortage of doctors in relation to the increasing number of patients. “The authorities need to do more to increase the number of clinical PG seats each year,” he said.
In contrast, government medical colleges have successfully filled their non-clinical course seats, with many doctors attributing this to the greater exposure and prestige associated with studying in a government institution.
“Employability is the key reason students shy away from non-clinical subjects. However, some still opt for these courses out of genuine interest and the better working conditions they offer. What we really need is an increase in seats for clinical courses,” said Dr Althaf A, an epidemiologist and professor at the Government Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram.