175 MBBS seats remain vacant in Telangana after multiple rounds of NEET counselling | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: At least 175 MBBS seats in Telangana remain vacant despite multiple rounds of NEET-UG 2026 counselling, with all the unfilled seats falling under the management quota in private medical colleges.The vacancies are in Category B (management) and Category C (NRI), officials said. “This is the first time so many seats have remained vacant. All govt college seats have been filled, as demand for them is always high and the fees are much lower,” said J Venkateshwarlu, joint registrar of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS).Telangana has more than 10,000 MBBS seats, of which over 6,000 are in 29 private medical colleges. The annual fee for Category B seats ranges from ₹10 lakh to ₹11 lakh, while NRI quota seats cost ₹24 lakh to ₹25 lakh. Fees are regulated by the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC).However, sources said the prescribed fee was only part of the financial burden on students. They alleged that some private colleges charge Category A students ₹2.5 lakh to ₹3 lakh, against the prescribed fee of around ₹60,000. Colleges are also accused of collecting amounts above the approved fee – sometimes even in crore – from Category B and C students, apart from charging for hostel accommodation and other expenses.Health experts said the rising cost of medical education was increasingly difficult to justify given the employment opportunities and earnings available to graduates. “Engineering graduates get packages worth several lakhs, while a duty medical officer earns ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 a month. Even after MD or DM, there is saturation,” said Dr G Srinivas, a member of the Telangana Medical Council (TGMC).Experts argued that the vacancies reflected financial constraints rather than declining interest in medicine. “This is not a lack of interest in medicine. It reflects the financial barriers created by rising costs. It is unfortunate that seats remain vacant while deserving students give up their dreams. TAFRC must review why colleges keep raising fees,” said Dr Karthik Nagula, president of the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA).The state’s latest expansion of MBBS capacity has also been driven largely by the private sector. Of the 1,010 additional seats approved for Telangana for 2026-27, private medical colleges account for 900, while government colleges have added just 110, according to the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) recently released seat matrix.In Jan this year, govt doctors and healthcare groups, including HRDA, urged the state govt to prevent private medical colleges from charging all students a uniform fee. Under the existing system, students securing higher ranks can access subsidised Category A seats. Private college managements, however, have sought a common fee structure, arguing that charging different fees to students is unfair. Doctors warned that such a move would effectively eliminate the cheaper seats and make medical education unaffordable for students from poor and middle-class families.Experts also attributed the vacancies to changes in this year’s counselling rules. “Earlier, students who applied under Category B could compete for vacant Category C seats in subsequent rounds. That option was not available this year. Many students could afford the Category B fee but not the NRI quota fee. Cheaper medical education abroad is also attracting students,” said a representative of JVR Education Consultants, Nallakunta.Dr Dwarkanath Reddy, former president of the Indian Medical Association’s Telangana chapter, pointed to limited employment opportunities after graduation. “Finding a job after MBBS is not easy, especially without postgraduation. There are no campus placements like in other fields,” he said. Even families with a medical background are now thinking twice before opting for NRI quota seats, he added.Meanwhile, associations of private medical colleges have urged the NMC and KNRUHS to extend the counselling deadline. KNRUHS is likely to reopen counselling to fill the remaining vacancies.One parents’ association quote