Gujarat’s paramedical education system is facing a substantial enrolment gap, with 32,351 seats still vacant after the third round of admissions across nursing and other healthcare programmes. The figures cover 53,206 seats being filled through the Admission Committee for Professional Medical Educational Courses (ACPMEC), with nursing accounting for the largest share of unfilled capacity.
According to official data cited in the report, 6,372 new candidates secured admissions in the third round, while 486 students received upgraded allotments compared with the second round. Another 13,997 candidates retained seats allotted to them earlier. In total, 20,855 students have been allotted seats so far.
Candidates allotted seats have been asked to confirm their admissions by paying fees and completing the required formalities by October 9. The final number of vacancies will be determined after the confirmation deadline, meaning the current figure could change if some allotted students do not complete the admission process.
The vacancy is particularly pronounced in nursing. The Auxiliary Nurse Midwife programme has 8,409 unfilled seats, while the General Nursing and Midwifery programme has 12,593 vacancies, the highest among the paramedical courses covered by the admission process. Together, these two nursing programmes account for 21,002 vacant seats.
Several colleges have reported extremely low enrolment, with some institutions unable to attract even double-digit numbers of students. The figures indicate that the availability of seats is significantly exceeding the number of students currently taking up admissions, although the report does not identify the specific reasons for the weak enrolment or distinguish between students who have not received allotments and those who may yet complete the process.
The mismatch is emerging as Gujarat continues to expand its paramedical education capacity. More than 150 new colleges in the state are reportedly awaiting approval. If approved, these institutions could add to the number of available seats while existing colleges are still reporting large vacancies.
The admission data therefore places two aspects of the healthcare education system alongside each other: a large approved capacity across more than 10 programmes, and limited uptake by students in several courses. Nursing, which has the largest pool of vacant seats in the current round, is at the centre of that gap.
ACPMEC’s October 9 confirmation deadline is the next formal milestone. The final vacancy position will become clearer after candidates complete fee payments and admission formalities.
