Industry experts cite the excessive annual tuition fees as the main driver behind the low intake (Photo: AI Generated)

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More than 800 medical seats remain vacant across deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry after the final counselling held for NEET UG 2026, sources said on Thursday. High tuition fees have led to this situation, say educationists and industry experts.

According to Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) sources, of the total 837 unfilled MBBS seats across the country (including All India Quota seats), 824 were vacant in deemed universities in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry alone.

Educationists criticised the lack of a fee cap for deemed universities and pointed out that high-scoring NEET candidates are forced to forgo these seats simply because they cannot afford the exorbitant fees, thereby defeating the core purpose of conducting a merit-based national entrance examination.

Senior educationist and State…