Hyderabad: Telangana students who completed their Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in Andhra Pradesh are facing difficulties while seeking admission to postgraduate Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) courses in Telangana. The issue largely revolves around the definition of a “local candidate” and the eligibility criteria for state-quota seats.
According to the MDS admission prospectus issued by Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS), candidates seeking admission under the competent-authority quota must satisfy the prescribed local-area requirements. For Telangana, the local area is defined as the State of Telangana, with eligibility linked to the candidate’s period of study in the local area.
As a result, students who are residents of Telangana but completed their BDS degree in Andhra Pradesh have found themselves classified as non-local candidates for Telangana MDS admissions. Several students argue that they are Telangana natives and completed their schooling in the state, but had to pursue BDS in Andhra Pradesh because of the availability of seats or admission circumstances.
The problem does not end with Telangana. Students who completed BDS in Andhra Pradesh under NTR University of Health Sciences have also faced difficulties in claiming local status for MDS admissions in Andhra Pradesh. Reports from the 2025–26 admission process said that some Telangana students were effectively treated as non-locals in both states.
The issue is particularly serious for students belonging to reserved categories. Reports said that some Telangana students applying for MDS seats in Andhra Pradesh were being considered under the open category rather than their reserved category, increasing competition and potentially making seats less accessible.
Students have questioned the situation, arguing that pursuing BDS outside Telangana should not permanently deprive them of the opportunity to compete for postgraduate seats in their home state. In 2024, similar concerns were raised by Telangana students who had completed BDS in Andhra Pradesh but were subsequently found ineligible for Telangana MDS admissions under the changed local-status rules.
The controversy is connected to changes in Telangana’s local-candidate rules. The state introduced new criteria concerning the period of education in Telangana, which affected students who completed part of their schooling or professional education outside the state. The Telangana High Court subsequently dealt with challenges concerning the local-status rules for medical and dental admissions. In September 2025, the court dismissed petitions challenging the rules and held that the applicable provisions were binding, while also noting that the government could consider policy changes to address such grievances.
The matter has therefore become a major concern for Telangana students pursuing professional education outside the state. Students and dental student organisations have sought greater clarity from the authorities, particularly on whether Telangana domicile should be given greater consideration when determining eligibility for postgraduate dental admissions.
For students, the issue is more than a technical admission rule. After completing five years of dental education, including internship, and qualifying in NEET-MDS, they may still find their access to state-quota seats restricted because their BDS education was completed outside Telangana.
The dispute highlights a broader question in professional education: should a student’s state domicile be determined primarily by residence and earlier schooling, or by where the student completed the qualifying professional degree? Until the rules are clarified or changed, Telangana students who pursued BDS in Andhra Pradesh may continue to face uncertainty while applying for MDS seats in either state.