NEET-UG 2026: 175 MBBS seats find no takers in Telangana

Hyderabad: Despite several rounds of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)-UG 2026 admissions, 175 MBBS seats remain vacant in Telangana. All these vacancies are in private medical colleges under the management and NRI quotas.

A report in The Times of India quoted J Venkateshwarlu, joint registrar of Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), saying that such a large number of unfilled seats had not been seen before. He added that government medical colleges had filled all their seats because of high demand and lower tuition fees.

Telangana has over 10,000 MBBS seats. Out of them, more than 6,000 are available in 29 private medical colleges. Students admitted under Category B pay an annual fee of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 11 lakh, while the fee for NRI quota seats is between Rs 24 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.

Medical education costs become a major concern

According to TOI sources, some private colleges collect Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh from Category A students. The allowed fee is approximately Rs 60,000.

There are also allegations that colleges demand additional payments from Category B and C students. Some of them reportedly collect crores of rupees.

As per experts, the seats are vacant as students are reconsidering their admissions due to the rising cost of private medical education.

Telangana private colleges add 900 MBBS seats

For the academic year 2026-27, the state received approval for 1,010 additional seats. Of these, 900 seats were added by private medical colleges. The rest were added to government institutions.

Students with better NEET ranks can secure Category A seats at lower fees.

Job opportunities

The TOI quoted Dr Dwarkanath Reddy, former president of the Indian Medical Association’s Telangana chapter, saying that the limited employment options for MBBS graduates were another concern.

He said that getting a job immediately after MBBS was difficult, particularly for students who did not pursue postgraduate education. Medical colleges also do not provide campus placements.

According to him, even families with doctors are now reconsidering the decision to spend heavily on NRI quota admissions.

Meanwhile, private medical college associations have approached the NMC and KNRUHS, seeking an extension of the counselling deadline. KNRUHS is expected to conduct another round of counselling to fill the remaining vacant seats.

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