Refund, adjust excess MBBS fee collected from NRI students: FRC to Kerala medical colleges

Thiruvananthapuram: In view of alleged capitation MBBS fee collection, Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) for medical education in Kerala has ordered 4 private medical colleges to refund the excess NRI fee collected from the candidates.

The dispute between private medical colleges and the FRC has been ongoing for quite some time now. Amidst the ongoing debate over the issue, the FRC Chairman Justice P Rajendra Babu had fixed the MBBS fee and signed orders for 19 self-financing medical colleges on July 6, 2019.

However, the private medical colleges in Kerala were not very pleased with the orders as they have been demanding Rs 12 lakh fee per annum for 85% of seats in all private medical colleges and Rs 30 lakh per annum for the remaining 15% of seats allocated for Non-Resident Indians (NRI).

As decided by the FRC, on average, the fee in each medical college was increased by Rs 50,000. The fee ranged between Rs 5.85 lakh and Rs 7.19 lakh despite the medical colleges' demand of a hike in MBBS fee ranging between Rs 11 lakh and Rs 20 lakh.

Also Read: MBBS Fee Fixation Feud in Kerala: Dispute by Private Medical Colleges to continue in Court

However, paying no heed to the recently pegged fee structure, four private medical colleges collected 20 lakh as NRI fees for the current academic year based on the provisional MBBS fee for NRI students pegged in July 2017.

The matter drew attention after a few candidates filed complaints with the committee. Taking cognizance of the same, the panel viewed this as an illegal transaction and prompted legal action.

The panel ordered the medical colleges to appropriate the excess MBBS fee collected under the NRI quota either to be refunded or adjusted towards the tuition fee for the remaining years.

As per a recent media report in The Tribune, these medical colleges including Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Medical College, and Pushpagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre collected have been reprimanded by the regulatory panel and return the MBBS fee that had been collected in excess to fee structure that was in force.