The National Medical Commission in its guidelines has said that private medical colleges and deemed universities should charge fees for 50% of its seats on a par with government medical colleges in that State or Union Territory.
This benefit would go first to students admitted under government quota and “if government quota seats are less than 50% of the total sanctioned seats, then the remaining candidates would avail the benefit of fee equivalent to fees of government medical college, based purely on merit,” the office memorandum issued on February 3 reads.
The 6-page memorandum dated February 3 lists what can be included in fee and what should be excluded.
The memorandum has not impressed parents who have been fighting to reduce the fee structure in deemed universities.
A parent whose ward was admitted to a deemed university to an MBBS programme in 2017, the year NEET was made compulsory for admission to deemed institutions said the private institutions would not comply with the NMC’s guidelines. “The private medical colleges lobby is powerful and influential. States like Maharashtra have more self-financing institutions than government colleges and would go to court,” he said.
The registrar of a deemed university in Kancheepuram agreed with this view. “It is very difficult as a lot of money is spent to establish and maintain medical colleges. Huge infrastructure is required. We also give treatment to patients at a concessional rate. Medical colleges are not like corporate hospitals. In a government medical college the government subsidises every medical student. It pays the electricity bill, the staff salary and develops the infrastructure. A self-financing college runs with the tuition fee collected. The private medical college consortium will seek legal relief,” he said.
Some professors point out regularising the fee structure would help. Some years ago Kerala government had called for discussion all private medical colleges. The institutions had not been able to fill seats as the tuition fee was very high. The colleges were told to reduce their fee structure to enable them fill their seats.
The method worked and all medical colleges charged a uniform fee structure which also helped them fill all their seats.
