Representative image
MANGALURU: With nearly 60% of over 2,800 seats in Karnataka not filled after the second round of counselling by the Karnataka Examinations Authority, a member of the Dental Council of India (DCI) has suggested relaxing the eligibility criteria.
DCI member Dr Shivasharan told TOI that 1,678 of the 2,834 seats are vacant and he met medical education minister K Sudhakar in this regard with a request that the NEET eligibility be lowered by 20 percentile points as per the DCI recommendation.
The member has said, in a letter to the minister, that BDS seats were vacant in Karnataka and other states in the past too. “To tide over the situation of vacant seats, the ministry of health and family welfare had lowered the eligibility of NEET percentile in the previous years and extended the last date of BDS admission 15 days beyond the last date of medical admission.”