Hyderabad: Hundreds of MBBS graduates and health reform organisations are voicing concerns over being denied local quota in private medical colleges’ PG seats under management quota-1 (MQ-1).Late on Saturday evening, after the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) issued a counselling notification for the 2025-26 academic year, they also demanded an immediate halt to the MQ-1 counselling process until a new GO is issued providing local reservation for Telangana MBBS graduates, similar to the policy already implemented in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.Despite govt orders from 2017 leaving 326 MQ-1 seats open to all-India candidates, Telangana MBBS graduates and health experts say they have to compete without reservation, unlike AP, which reserved over 90% of PG seats for locals in 2023.In comparison, AP took decisive steps in 2023 through GO 102. Out of 393 PG seats, 357 were reserved for local graduates, leaving only 36 open. This move ensured that more than 90% of PG seats are retained for students native to AP. Health experts and members of the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) and the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) demand at least 85% reservation for Telangana graduates before the upcoming MQ-1 counselling.Dr Bandari Rajkumar, HRDA president, says the consequences of this disparity are severe as Telangana produces nearly 7,000 MBBS graduates every year but has only 2,000-2,200 PG seats in total. “This outdated policy, unchanged for the past eight years, has consistently disadvantaged Telangana’s medical graduates, forcing them to compete at the national level for seats in their own state. With 326 MQ-1 seats left open to outsiders, hundreds of Telangana graduates are denied PG opportunities annually. Many families are forced to send their children to distant states, bearing heavy financial and emotional burdens. Parents are left disheartened as they watch their children leave Telangana for further education, while outsiders occupy PG seats that should have belonged to local graduates. This issue is not just about numbers, but about fairness, dignity, and justice for the state’s young doctors,” he says.Another member from T-JUDA said that a strong warning note has already been sent to the govt and KNRUHS, demanding that at least 85% of MQ-1 seats be reserved for Telangana MBBS graduates, just like Andhra Pradesh has implemented. “Policy change must take effect before the upcoming MQ-1 counselling. With a single GO, hundreds of Telangana doctors will benefit immediately, and it is now the govt’s responsibility to step in and end this injustice,” says the junior doctors.Dr Rajkumar stresses that if KNRUHS proceeds with MQ-1 counselling without issuing a new GO to secure local reservation, HRDA and others will seek legal action. “Counselling must be stopped immediately. We urge the govt to act immediately to protect the rights of graduates from the state,” he says.
