HP:MMMC Fee revision under consideration, much against student will

Shimla: Maharishi Markandeshwar Medical College (MMMC), Kumarhatti (Solan) is considering revision of fee structure despite not being affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh University and failing to implement the parent Act provisions , which disallow affiliation to colleges.

The college has permission for a 150 MBBS student intake from the Medical Council of India; 50 % of its seats fall under the state quota. A committee appointed by the State government is supposed to fix the fee for its various categories, which include, state, management and NRI quota. At present the annual fee under the government quota at the MMMC is Rs. 5 lac, as against the paltry Rs 60,000 at three other government run medical colleges.

The MMMC which is now considering another fee hike under the government quota has called for opinions of parents, students and stakeholders. The former two being against the move. They feel the entire purpose of the government quota gets defeated with a raise of fee under this quota. Government sources have reacted by saying the fee committee would take a decision, after consultation with the stake holders in the institution.

When the college authorities refused to admit the 4^th year MBBS batch in accordance with NEET rankings, some students took the MMMC management to High Court on its decision. The court soon after gave a directive asking the college to start admitting students. Meanwhile, it also asked for a declaration from the students, stating that they were willing to pay revised fee from the next session.

The Himachal Pradesh Private Medical Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fixation of Fee), 2006 has already been amended by the government; making it essential for all medical institutions to be affiliated to the Himachal Pradesh University (HPU).

The Chief Minister, Virbhadra Singh, had announced that a bill regarding establishment of a new medical university in the state would be tabled during the winter session of the Vidhan Sabha; after which all medical institutions would be deemed affiliated to the medical university.