With 15% seats in government colleges allocated to NRI quota, demand for management seats drops in private colleges

Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) announced the final results of the third round of seat allotment for medical and dental courses. While all dental seats have been filled, 656 medical seats remain vacant, all in the management quota. The KEA will conduct an extended round of counselling to fill these seats.

The high number of vacancies has been attributed to the implementation of a 15% Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota in government medical colleges and the high fees for management quota seats in private colleges.

For the academic year of 2026–27, there are 76 medical colleges across the State comprising 25 government and 51 private medical colleges offering 15,745 seats, highest for any State in India. Of these, 3,735 (15%) are all-India quota seats, while the remaining 12,010 (85%) State quota medical seats are filled through the KEA.

KEA recently concluded the third round of seat allotment with 11,354 medical seats allotted, leaving 656 seats vacant.

Effect of NRI quota

The implementation of NRI quota seats in government medical colleges has emerged as the primary reason for the significant number of vacant seats in private medical colleges.

Private medical colleges offer 15% of their seats under the NRI quota. However, to enable self-sustainability, the State government has allocated 15% of seats under the NRI quota in government medical colleges from this academic year.

Consequently, out of the 4,600 medical seats available in 25 government medical colleges of the State, this year, 690 seats have been reserved for NRI students.

As a result, students who would have otherwise relied on private colleges for NRI quota seats have secured admission in government colleges at a relatively lower fee.

High fees

Currently, the fee for management and NRI quota seats in private colleges ranges from ₹44 lakh to ₹45.40 lakh in the State. In contrast, the fee for NRI quota seats in government colleges is around ₹25 lakh.

“Last year, all seats were filled by the third round of seat allotment itself. This year, however, several management quota seats are vacant in our college. There has been no hike in fees for medical courses this year. The implementation of NRI quota seats in government medical colleges is the main reason for this trend,” admitted the principal of a private medical college.

Speaking to The Hindu, H. Prasanna, Executive Director of KEA said, “A total of 656 medical seats remaining vacant after the third round will be allotted through an extended round of counseling.”