Agartala: The first-year provisional results of the MBBS course in Tripura’s medical colleges have triggered concern after an unusually high number of students failed to clear the university examinations, except those from the Agartala Government Medical College (AGMC).
Days after the results were published, Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha announced that the National Medical Commission (NMC) had sanctioned 50 additional MBBS seats for Tripura Medical College (TMC). The announcement came even as the college recorded one of the poorest performances, with nearly half of its students failing to secure passing marks in the first-year exams.
The results, uploaded on the Tripura University website, showed that both Tripura Medical College and Tripura Shantiniketan Medical College (TSMC) performed poorly, with almost 50 percent of students failing. Officials clarified that these were provisional results and may change slightly after the review and re-evaluation process.
“A handful of students may clear the exam after rechecking, as in some cases errors in calculation have been found during evaluation,” a Tripura University source said.
At AGMC, 24 out of 146 students failed, recording an overall pass percentage of 83. However, TSMC, which began operations last year with an intake of 150 students, reported the highest number of failures — 89 out of 148 students who appeared. At TMC, 45 of the 89 students who appeared failed, reflecting a failure rate of around 50 percent.
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University officials said the exams are conducted annually under strict supervision to ensure transparency. “Students must qualify in college-level semester exams to be eligible for the university exams, which are conducted like board examinations under the supervision of invigilators from across the country,” a senior university official said.
TMC functions as a semi-private institution under a government-constituted society, while TSMC is fully private. Both are not directly under the state government’s supervision.
Earlier this year, TMC came under scrutiny following allegations of malpractice in university examinations.
Reports suggested that some students were asked to pay money to secure passing marks, prompting the university to launch a probe. Following the controversy, stricter monitoring was introduced this year, officials said.
Expressing concern over the results, Chief Minister Dr. Saha said, “The fail percentage of both institutions is a matter of great concern. I have directed the Health Secretary to hold a review meeting with the principals of both institutions. If any assistance is required from the state government, it will be provided. However, in the health sector, we will not tolerate any negligence or excuses.”
Later, in a social media post, Dr. Saha announced the NMC’s approval for 50 additional MBBS seats for Tripura Medical College and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital.
“Another great news for medical education aspirants. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has sanctioned an additional 50 MBBS seats for Tripura Medical College and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Hospital, Agartala. With this, the total MBBS intake at TMC has increased from 100 to 150, raising the overall MBBS seats in Tripura to 450. In the last three years, we have achieved a record addition of 225 MBBS seats in the state,” he wrote.
Incidentally, Dr. Saha served as a professor at Tripura Medical College before joining politics.
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