Common Fee structure for all: Kerala HM Shylaja

Health Minister, K. K. Shylaja, in the assembly recently declared that capping of medical fee structure at Rs. 25,000 or Rs. 2.5 Lakh for medical admissions would be a difficult proposition this year. This she said was the case since all admissions including those in private self-financing medical colleges, would be strictly on the basis of merit, in the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

The Minister said that since all admissions were to be merit based, the distinction between government and management seats would automatically end. Since no cross subsidy would exist, a common fee structure for all seats was going to emerge, she added.

She was replying to a query by the Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala. The opposition leader had expressed concern over the likely hike in medical fee this year. The Minister pointed out that the Chief Minister had already initiated discussions on the matter with all political parties.

The Kerala Medical Education (Regulation and Control of Admission to Private Medical Educational Institutions) Ordinance 2017 has been promulgated by the government to regulate both fee structures and admissions in self financing colleges.

The government’s concern she said was to ensure that the fee was affordable for the common man.

She also mentioned the college managements complaining of not being able to collect capitation fee due to NEET based admissions. This move they felt would make it difficult for them to run the colleges.

The opposition however, demanded that the Government make sure that the fee for medical courses was not raised beyond the common man’s affordability, reports the Hindu.