Maharashtra: FRA allows private medical colleges to charge Differential fee

Mumbai: The state quota students are likely to benefit in a big way from the fee regulating body’s decision to allow private medical colleges to charge higher rates for their institution and NRI seats. The FRA will also stand to benefit from the collection made from these seats while granting approval to their seats.

This decision of the FRA has resulted in state quota fee for several colleges coming down.

MBBS tuition fees of K J Somaiya Medical College has fallen from Rs 9.2 lakh in 2017 to Rs 7.5 lakh in 2018. The postgraduate fee of the college has also decreased from Rs. 10.4 lakh for state seats to Rs.8.2 lakh. The college is believed to have charged Rs. 55 lakh for its institutional and NRI seats from students.

Similarly, while fixing fee for the health science courses the FRA keeping in mind the excess collection made by colleges from students applying in the NRI and institution quota category has accordingly approved a reasonable fee structure states the FRA directive. The same shall be applied in fixing undergraduate fee bar.

Private medical colleges had declared their intentions of not participating in the admission processes altogether if the FRA went ahead in its plan to strike down the three-tier fee structure. Last year, several colleges had set their NRI and management seats at three to four times the merit and state quota fees.

In a meeting that took place last week, the FRA allowed private managements to go ahead and fix their NRI and institutional quota seats on their own saying, “However, if fees for NRI seats will be charged at five times the state quota fee, it will lead to a dramatic 50-60% reduction in fees of state quota students for next year,” said an FRA source.

Maharashtra colleges claim to have an annual expenditure ranging between Rs 30 and Rs. 60 crore. The FRA allows for an additional 10% profit and leaves room for 10% inflation, too.

An FRA member said, “As a large slice of the revenue will now come from NRI students, fees will be reduced next year as colleges cannot profiteer. That will mean the fees of state students will drop a lot and state students will benefit.”

Soon after FRA struck down the three-tier fee structure, private medical colleges have decided to go ahead with their admissions. “Colleges have appreciated the FRA’s decision and PG admission will start soon,” Dr Pravin Shingare, Director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research told TOI.