Fee NOT Paid: Medical College restricts 61 MBBS students from attending classes

Shimla: 61 second-year MBBS students associated with Maharishi Markandeshwar Private Medical College, Kumarhatti, were not allowed to attend their classes allegedly on the grounds of non-payment of fees.

Accusation to this effect has been made by the Private Medical and Dental College Student-Parent Association, Shimla which has demanded action against the medical college stating that the institute is allegedly demanding 10 per cent illegal hike in fees.

The association took the case to the HP Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPERC) and demanded that the state and the commission take strict action against the authorities of the private medical college for not adhering to their instructions and for torturing the students.

After going through the complaint, the HPPERC released an interim order where it directed the college to go through pending review of the fee by the state government, the MBBS students who have paid the fee for the current academic year should be allowed to attend the classes and no students should be kept in captivity, reports Tribune. The college was also told to file its reply before the commission by April 23.

However, even after the order by the commission, the medical college didn't let the MBBS students attend their classes. The association alleged that they received messages on their numbers from the medical college authorities stating that their ward was not present in the class so that no legal action could be taken against them.

It has also been alleged that fee had always been the issue of dispute.

As per the notification issued in March 2017 by the state government, the fee for state quota seats and management quota seats was Rs 5,50,000 and Rs 10,39,500 per student per annum, respectively. This was supposed to remain the same for full MBBS course for the students admitted during the session 2017-18.

The MBBS fee fixation committee of Himachal Pradesh, however, was opposite to the Supreme Court’s directions in this regard. The University had revised the notified fee structure without the meeting and concurrence of the fee fixation committee.

As per the new notification issued by the university, the fee for state quota seats was hiked from Rs 5,50,000 to Rs 7,00,000 and for the management quota seats was increased from Rs 10,39,500 to Rs 12,00,000 per student per annum. This was challenged in the High Court.

The Parents’ association alleged that even after the payment of the revised fee, the college was demanding 10 per cent for a higher fee, reports Tribune.

Read Also: Himachal Pradesh: MBBS fee structure remains the same this year, after last year’s rise