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Latest News |
| 15th
March 2010 / Times of India / Hyderabad Edition |
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Not many takers for medical edu in
state
Only 25,000 Eamcet Applications Sold So Far
Hyderabad: Medical education seems to have found less
number of takers this admission season when compared to
previous years.With just 25,000 Eamcet applications sold
in the medical stream even a month after the beginning
of the sale of applications,officials of Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University (JNTU),who are in charge of Eamcet
2010,predict a turnout of just 50,000 to 60,000 students
for Eamcet,medical stream (BPC) exam scheduled to be held
on May 30.
Interestingly,the number of engineering applicants seems
to be shooting through the roof at the same time with
over 2.35 lakh applications sold already.
Officials observe that the medical stream in the state
has been seeing a downward slump since the past two years.While
in 2008 the number of Eamcet takers was 1.2 lakh,in 2009
the figure dropped to 69,000.
With figures pointing to a further fall in numbers,experts
observe that the stream itself has lost its earlier sheen
mostly due to a growing demand for engineering seats.Students
seem to be opting for engineering over medicine because
they have a better chance of getting a seat as there has
been a substantial increase in engineering colleges from
380 in 2007 to 625 in 2010, said D N Reddy,Eamcet chairman
and vice-chancellor,JNTU.He added that 60 new colleges
are expected to be set up in the state before the academic
year 2010-11,making engineering the most sought after
course.
Already,there are 2.2 lakh seats available in engineering
colleges and the number is expected to increase by a few
more thousands.However,in medicine the number of seats
available are just about 4,000.
Medical experts observed that besides the increase in
the number of engineering seats,the long drawn process
of medical education in the country is also putting off
the MBBS aspirations of the students.While one can start
earning with a graduate degree in engineering,in medicine
one will have to complete post-graduation to get even
somewhere close to a good practising physicians post,
said K V Raghunath,vice-chairman,Narayana Group of Institutions,adding
that it is difficult to get a post-graduate medical seat
in the state with less than 1,300 seats available in this
category.
Educationists said that even the soaring cost of medical
education is a major deterrent for students since a student
is expected to shell out at least Rs 25 lakh to complete
his/her graduation in medicine while in engineering the
cost is less than Rs 5 lakh even in management quota.
DOWNWARD TREND
Due to soaring cost and few job opportunities,the number
of takers for medicine has been on the decline in the
state Eamcet officials say only 60,000 students may be
appearing for 4,000-odd seats this time While the number
of Eamcet takers (for medical stream) in 2008 was 1.2
lakh,in 2009 the figure dropped to 69,000 The number of
aspirants for engineering though has been on the steady
rise in tune with increase in number of seats (There are
2.2 lakh seats available as of now and the number is likely
to go up further this year) |
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