BENGALURU: Over 30% of postgraduate dental seats in the state continue to be vacant even after the second round of counselling. This despite the Dental Council of India (DCI) lowering cutoffs this year.
According to data provided by Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), of 933 seats, 643 have been filled and 290 are vacant after the second round of counselling. KEA did not disclose stream-wise break-up, citing an ongoing Supreme Court hearing on admissions in the state.
Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) said the number of vacancies is more compared to last year. “Last year, 154 seats were vacant. This is excluding two private universities. This year, the vacancy is more because our counselling has been delayed compared to other states. Students from other states would have opted for seats there instead of waiting for our colleges,” said Dr Jayakara SM, vice-chancellor, RGUHS.
The last date for admission to PG dental seats according to the DCI was November 20. However, in Karnataka, counselling for the same was held only in December. The state has now approached the Supreme Court for approval of the admissions.
This trend of PG dental seats going vacant has been on for the past few years. So much so that the DCI decided to lower the cutoff percentile for admissions this year. For general category, the cutoff score was lowered to 185 from 259 (from 50th percentile to 26.971th percentile).
“Job prospects — mainly teaching for a PG-holder — are very low in the state. While there are 900 seats, maybe 30-40 posts open up every year. If a student aspires to practice, even a BDS degree would suffice. Therefore, MDS — especially non-clinical subjects — has become non-attractive for students,” said Dr Girish Giraddi, dean-cum-director, Government Dental College and Research Institute, Bengaluru.
“Students chose seats in their neighbouring states as admissions got delayed in Karnataka. But if there is a mop-up round, we hope seats will get picked up. Only subjects like community dentistry and oral pathology and other non-clinical subjects are likely to be left out,” said Dr Pradeep AR, principal, Oxford Dental College.
KEA said the possibility of a mop-up round will depend on the SC order.
