100 seats for BAMS course still vacant due to delayed approval for increasing seats

As per information provided by Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell, which conducts the centralised admission process for professional courses, 74 institutions took part in admissions for academic year 2022-23, when a total of 5,429 seats were open for admissions. Whereas this year, more than 100 institutes were offering 7,000 plus seats.

An official from the cell said, “The BAMS course does not see such vacancy, considering that this is the next best option for medicine aspirants, after MBBS. The number of seats increased, however, were included in admissions only much later in the process, due to which many candidates must have confirmed admissions in other courses.”

The other two undergraduate AYUSH courses —Bachelor of Homeopathy Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), however, have not witnessed any vacancies. As opposed to 266 seat vacancies in the last academic year, only 25 seats are vacant in BHMS in the academic year 2023-24, while no vacancies are reported in BUMS as all 300-odd seats are filled.

The deadline for admissions this year was November 30, and a large chunk of new increased seats was approved during the same month toward the end.

While a delay in approvals for the new intake is one causes for the vacancy in BAMS this year, many have also pointed out the absence of the institution level mop-up rounds in medical admissions. “Based on guidelines by the National Medical Council (NMC), it was mandatory to conduct all admissions through a centralised process as opposed to the regular practice of allowing Institutes to fill seats at their levels, after the centralised rounds of admission are over,” an admission counselor said.