Mumbai: In a move that could fundamentally alter how private medical colleges in Maharashtra admit students, the state CET Cell has proposed doing away with the controversial institutional round, the final stage of admissions that has for years operated outside the centralised counselling process overseen by govt.The proposal, officials confirmed, has already received clearance from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and is now awaiting the state govt’s approval ahead of the next admission cycle.If implemented, all undergraduate and postgraduate medical admissions in Maharashtra would be conducted solely through the CET Cell’s centralised admission process, leaving private colleges with little independent discretion in the final allocation of seats.The institutional round has long been criticised by parents, students and medical education activists, who allege that the process lacks transparency and allows arbitrary fee demands and last-minute seat allotments.“Repeated concerns raised during earlier admission cycles led to discussions on whether the institutional round should continue at all,” a senior official said.Maharashtra currently remains the only state in the country to retain such a round. In all other states, medical admissions are conducted entirely through centralised counselling mechanisms.Parent representative Sudha Shenoy said the move would bring the state in line with directions issued earlier by the National Medical Commission (NMC). “Two years ago, the National Medical Commission had ordered that all medical seats, undergraduate as well as postgraduate, should be filled through a centralised admission process. Maharashtra is the only state that still continues with the institutional round,” Shenoy said.The institutional quota process has also repeatedly faced legal and regulatory complications. In 2023, Maharashtra conducted an offline institutional quota round, but students admitted through that process were not recognised by the NMC.The following year, the state chose not to hold the round, but a private medical college approached the court, following which an online institutional quota process was conducted.“Every year, private colleges move court and obtain permission to conduct an institutional round,” Shenoy alleged.Under the current system, students who remain without a seat after completion of the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) rounds become eligible for the institutional quota round conducted by private colleges.Critics argue that while colleges publish merit lists, the final allotments often deviate from merit considerations. “The colleges eventually claim that higher-ranked candidates did not report, and seats are then effectively auctioned to those willing to pay the highest amounts despite lower merit,” Shenoy said. Medical education activists say abolishing the institutional round could reduce scope for malpractice and ensure a more merit-driven admissions process across the state’s private medical colleges.
