NEET UG Admission 2026: Sources indicated on Thursday that following the final round of NEET UG 2026 counselling, more than 800 medical seats remain vacant in deemed universities across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Career Counsellors and industry experts attribute this situation to excessively high tuition fees.
According to sources from the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC), out of 837 MBBS seats left vacant nationwide, including those under the All India Quota, 824 were in deemed universities located in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry alone.
Academics have criticised the absence of a fee cap in deemed universities. They pointed out that even students who secure high scores in NEET opt out of these seats because they cannot afford the exorbitant fees. This, they argue, undermines the very purpose of a national entrance examination based on merit.
P.B. Prince Gajendrababu, a senior academic and General Secretary of the ‘State Platform for Common School System, Tamil Nadu’ (SPCSS-TN), stated that high-scoring NEET candidates who lack the financial means to enrol in private institutions with steep fees are effectively excluded; such students often do not even apply for counselling.
“On the other hand, economically privileged students with lower scores apply for and take up these seats,” he remarked. He further remarked, “NEET has failed on both counts; it has neither ensured merit-based selection nor curbed the commercialisation of medical education.” He added that any private medical institution, including deemed universities, that cannot lower its fees and ends up with vacant seats should be shut down.
He stated, “State governments must be encouraged to establish sufficient medical colleges in accordance with their needs.” Industry experts believe that the high annual tuition fees are the primary reason for the low enrolment numbers.
A higher education career counsellor for students in the city noted that the annual MBBS tuition fees at deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry range from ₹25 lakh to ₹35 lakh. He went on to say, students in private medical colleges are required to pay an extra ₹1.5 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh annually for accommodation and mess charges.
On the other hand, the average yearly fee in private colleges across other regions of India is about ₹17 to 18 lakhs. As a result, the overall expense for the complete four-and-a-half-year program varies widely.” As seats remain vacant, another round of counselling is expected to take place; the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will decide on this. “However,” he added, “nothing is clear yet.”
