Tamil Nadu boasts of having achieved social justice, but at what cost. The state’s 2025-26 government medical admissions saw just 52 Open Category candidates among 4,268 allotted seats, leaving OC candidates with only 1.22% of the total admissions.
The figure amounts to only 1.22% of the total admissions, despite the Open Category accounting for 31% of seats under Tamil Nadu’s reservation framework.
The RTI data for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 medical admissions was issued by the Directorate of Medical Education and Research. The details provide a community-wise breakup of candidates allotted seats in government medical colleges.
For 2025-26, the data shows 1,929 BC candidates, 214 BC Muslim (BCM) candidates, 1,219 MBC/DNC candidates, 687 SC candidates, 125 SCA candidates and 42 ST candidates among the 4,268 candidates allotted seats.
Only 52 candidates were classified as OC.
The community-wise breakup is:
The figures for 2024-25 show a similar disparity. Out of 4,281 candidates allotted seats in government medical colleges, only 89 were classified as OC.
In the same year, 1,966 candidates were from BC, 211 from BCM, 1,175 from MBC/DNC, 673 from SC, 125 from SCA and 42 from ST categories.
The data means that the number of OC candidates among government medical college admissions fell from 89 in 2024-25 to just 52 in 2025-26.
31% Open Category, But Just 1.22% OC Candidates
The disparity has raised questions over the manner in which the Open Category operates in Tamil Nadu.
While 31% of seats fall under Open Competition, the RTI data shows that only 1.22% of the total allotted candidates in 2025-26 were classified as OC.
The remaining seats in the community-wise data were allotted to candidates belonging to BC, BCM, MBC/DNC, SC, SCA and ST categories.
Tamil Nadu’s reservation system’s numbers indicate that the General Category (or OC) candidates have been left with a disproportionately small share of government medical seats.
The figures have also triggered questions over whether communities that are already benefiting from reservation are also substantially represented among seats available through Open Competition, thereby reducing the effective share available to candidates from the General Category.
Another concern raised is whether certain communities that are currently included within the reserved categories continue to require reservation, particularly when candidates from those communities constitute a substantial proportion of government medical admissions.
The RTI response dated 10 September 2026, provides the latest community-wise admission figures for the two academic years and has renewed the debate over Tamil Nadu’s reservation model and its impact on candidates classified under the Open Category.
Tamil Nadu has the most abused reservation system 🤦🏽🤦🏽
Out of 31% Open Category Medical Quota (OC) Seats Just 1.22% of the seats are secured by Students from Open Quota (OC)
Rest of the seats from Open category is secured by BC and MBC candidates
Takeaway’s
Data clearly… pic.twitter.com/WewcfaQi6E
— Yuvaraj Ramalingam (@YuvarajPollachi) September 23, 2026
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