10 percent fee hike limitation set for private medical colleges in Maha: FRA

Mumbai: The Fee Regulatory Authority(FRA), has taken fee matters in its hand this year by limiting fee hikes within 10 percent for the academic years 2016-17 & 2017-18. This has been done due to the incessant complaints by medical aspirants of the arbitrary capitation fee charged by private medical colleges.

MIMER Medical College, Talegaon has been granted a 20% hike, the highest over its last approved fee structure. In 2015-16, the fee for an MBBS course at the college was Rs 5 lakh, which has been increased to Rs 6 lakh, for those who sought admission last year. A Rs 50,000 raise has been granted to the college for the next academic year (2017-18).

KJ Somaiya Medical College, Sion has been allowed a fee hike of 6.3 percent, for the academic year 2016-17. While the 2015-16, college fee was Rs 8 lakh annually, for the MBBS course, a fee hike of Rs 50,000 for the academic year 2016-17 was allowed. The FRA raise for academic year 2017-18, at 8.8 percent, means those seeking admission this year will have to pay an annual fee of Rs 9.25 lakh.

The fee structure of Terna Medical College, Nerul has been hiked by approximately 8 percent, for the two academic years. While those admitted last year will have to pay Rs 5 lakh;for the ones who have entered the institution this year , the fee will be Rs 5.4 lakh.

“The fee structure was decided after considering the balance sheets of the colleges and charting out their expenses. There was no conscious effort to keep the hike under a particular percent. We granted only as much hike as we deemed necessary,” said Ravindra Dahad, a member of the FRA.

While the FRA has successfully structured fee of private medical colleges, it is the deemed institutions that have stood with their tyrannical mouths open, all these past years. The deemed colleges charge exorbitant fee, said the parent of a medical aspirant.

The fee structure of deemed colleges, is out of bounds of the FRA.

As per a Supreme Court ruling, the deemed medical colleges can form their individual committees to take a decision on their fee structure.

According to the parents of medical students and aspirants, deemed college fee ranges between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 17 lakh.

DY Patil Medical College, Navi Mumbai, a deemed institution charged Rs 16.5 lakh last year.

“As of today, there is no rule or regulation that allows the state or any other body to regulate the fee of the deemed medical colleges. For 25 years, parents have complained of arbitrary fee hikes in deemed colleges, but there’s nothing we can do about it,”Pravin Shinghare, Directorate of Medical Education and Research told the ieeducation.