Bachelor of Dental Surgery courses yet to start in Kerala

MBBS courses have started in Kerala but the dental courses are yet to begin in the state, read here to know more.

After the first year MBBS courses have started in different colleges in Kerala on February 14, the BDS courses in the state have still not started.

The BDS courses are expected to begin on March 21, as reported by TOI. 

The Dental Council of India (DCI) has announced that the new session for UG Courses (MBBS/ BDS) for the academic year 2021 may be started from February 10. Unlike the Medical Council of India (MCI), DCI has not announced the date of the first-year examination for BDS courses which may be a reason that Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) wasn't in a hurry to start the BDS courses. However, for MBBS first year examination, MCI has announced that it will be conducted on January 23.

Also, for MBBS, as many as 80% of seats have already been allotted in Kerala but for dental courses, only 40% of seats have been allotted so far. Right now, the second round of BDS counselling is going on and February 24 is the last date of joining the colleges. The mop-up round is scheduled from March 7 to March 10 and the last date of joining based on this mop-up round is March 15. 2nd Mop Up Round for BDS Seats is scheduled between March 22 to March 25, based on the DCI's schedule for BDS counselling.

KUHS authorities have said that even many of the existing dental students can opt for the MBBS course and this will be clear only after the final allocations are made.

As far as MBBS students are concerned, there are chances that some of them are shifting to other colleges after the Round 1 of allocation. KUHS has said that such students can carry their attendance to the new colleges as well.

One of the major reasons for the delay in starting the BDS course is the decision to conduct the second round of admission to medical and dental seats in Kerala only after the Round 2 of AIQ allocation is over.

Read more:

• NEET 2021 Counselling Round 2: MCC withdraws 10 MBBS seats of ESIC medical college
• NEET UG 2021: JKBOPEE issues revised seat matrix