Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has instructed district collectors to take steps to fill vacant seats in medical certificate courses offered by government medical colleges, officials said on Wednesday.

Of the 5,944 seats available in these courses across the state, only 1,316 were filled during the first round of admissions, leaving 4,628 seats vacant. Concerned over the large number of unfilled seats, the Public Welfare Department convened a review meeting under the chairmanship of Secretary Senthilkumar.

The meeting resolved that the admission process would be carried out with the support of district administrations. Following this, Senthilkumar has written to all district collectors and the Chennai Corporation, directing them to ensure admissions are completed within the stipulated time.

In the communication, officials were instructed to create awareness among students in both rural and urban areas about the availability of these certificate courses. The admissions are to be conducted based on the state's reservation policy.

“The process of filling the vacant seats should be completed by October 10,” the letter stated.