MUMBAI, Aug. 22 -- Keeping up the tradition of the last four years, applicants of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) from Latur once again dominated the first list of allotments to medical colleges - both government and private - in the state in 2025. The list, published on August 14, reveals 1,203 students from the district securing seats in 41 government and 23 private medical colleges across the state. Nanded followed with 936 students, followed by Pune with 873 and Mumbai with 784 students. Out of a total of 9,068 available seats, including private, management and all-India quota, students from Latur and Nanded make up 24 percent of the first allotment list. On the back of allegations of marks-for-money scam spanning across Maharashtra, Delhi, Bihar and Gujarat, Sachin Bangad, an admission counsellor from Latur, led the data analysis to "reinforce the idea of the Latur pattern". Bangad said, "It is a structured and disciplined model of study that continues to yield exceptional results in competitive exams. The success is significant as this year's NEET exam was conducted under the supervision of the district collector after last year's alleged scam at a National Testing Agency (NTA) centre in Rajasthan, following which a person was arrested from Latur for purportedly assuring applicants at specific exam centres of high scores, which raised doubts about the credibility of results." He added that the revelation of last year "pained" him, following which he began analysing the results and allotment lists. Bangad used centre codes from the Common Entrance Test (CET) cell's allotment data - such as 3109 for Latur and 3110 for Mumbai -- to identify the exact number of students securing admissions. "This is a general trend, but this year, we backed it up with verified data available on the CET cell website," he said, adding that strict supervision during exams and tougher question papers compared to previous years ensured transparency this time. Mahadev Gavane, principal of Rajarshi Shahu College, Latur, credited the consistent success to meticulous teaching strategies and long-term planning. "Our study techniques, which focus on application oriented teaching, allowing fewer holidays and urging students to spend more time in college, have been refined over the years. We maintain a study graph for every student. 35 students have qualified for the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the first list. By the time all lists are published, nearly 500 from this college are likely to secure medical seats," Gavane said. The college, which has an intake of 1,080 students, conducts special coaching for NEET and Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) exam alongside preparations for board exams. "Students get only a week off in May and four days during Diwali. Application-oriented teaching helps them understand concepts clearly and perform better," he added. Meanwhile, officials from the state medical education department said no official study has been carried out on these trends and they were unaware of the findings presented by Latur-based educators....