Gujarat: Medical Colleges to see fee hike as high as 315 percent

Ahmadabad: The Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) is on its job and is reported to have given some startling approvals for changes in the fee structure of management quota medical seats in Gujarat. Fee hikes ranging from 80% to 315% percent for management quota seats have been sanctioned in the state. The highest fee approval for management quota of Rs. 16.20 lac going to Adani Medical College(AMC), Bhuj.

Fee charged by Bhuj for its management quota seats last year was a mere Rs. 3.9 lac. This year the amount has reached a whopping Rs. 16.20 lac, a substantial jump of 315% as compared to the last year’s figure.

On the other hand, management quota seats in Medical Colleges run by Gujarat Medical Education & Research Society, are witnessing the smallest raise in medical course fee. Charges for these management quota seats being a mere Rs. 7.86 lac. On the other hand, GMERS colleges that are surrendering their management quota are doing so for Rs. 3 lac per seat.

On the list of fee escalatio also comes Parul Medical College, Waghodia. The general category students of the college will be charged Rs 5.75 lakh, while the fees of Rs. 10.50 lakh falls in the lap of the management quota cadre of students.

The FRC approval for dental colleges management quota is reflecting the new fee structure as ranging between- Rs. 4.06 lac to Rs. 7.58 lac; while the physiotherapy colleges FRC management quota approvals range between Rs. 1.8 lakh and Rs. 3.3 lakh.

The hike in fee structures of medical and dental courses have not gone down well in certain political quarters, which read the raise as a demarcation line for students belonging to the lower and middle income groups of the country.

State Congress spokesperson, Manish Doshi, said, "The fee structure announced for management quota seats has put medical education beyond the reach of middle-income and low-income families in the state."

The Fixed Regulatory Committee has been forced to ponder on increase of fee for management quota seats, after the court striking down the state notification, attempting to abolish 15% NRI quota and thereby, increasing the management reserve from 10% to 25%.

The High court has made it evidently clear that NRI reserve is meant for Non resident Indians living abroad, and not for sponsored candidates of non resident Indians.

The steep raise in fee structures of NRI quota come with FRC attachment riders. According to these, the colleges have the permission to charge fee of their choice from NRI students. However, the catch lies in the fact that any fee difference between NRI quota seats and management quota seats will go to students, in the form of scholarships.

Last but not the least, the FRC has also stated that the fee structure for management quota seats will be applicable to NRI seats surrendered and converted to management quota, in the case of non availability of NRI students.