HRDA opposes move to dilute Convener Quota in medical admissions

Telangana’s Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) has expressed concern over the efforts being made by private medical college management associations to dismantle the Convener Quota system in undergraduate and postgraduate medical admissions under the guise of introducing a uniform or common fee structure.

In a statement, the HRDA said that the push for uniform fees was not a benign reform but a strategic attempt to eliminate affordable Convener Quota seats and transform merit-based medical education into a privilege accessible only to affluent students.

“Convener Quota seats have historically enabled meritorious students from economically weaker and middle-class families to pursue medical studies. Any move towards a uniform fee structure without safeguarding this quota would place an unbearable financial burden on aspirants and their families, particularly those from rural and disadvantaged backgrounds,” they added.

The association said that private medical college associations were relying on an order passed by a single judge in a Writ petition dated December 2025, while disregarding earlier Division Bench rulings and established constitutional principles related to admissions, fee regulation, and prevention of profiteering.

In light of these developments, HRDA urged the Telangana government to take immediate action in the public interest. It called upon the State to file an appeal before the Division Bench of the High Court against the Single Bench order in the Writ petition to prevent irreversible harm to students and the admission process.