Punjab: Sri Guru Ram Das, Adesh University say NO to Govt Quota, Fix their own fees for MBBS

Faridkot: Two private medical colleges- Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College and Adesh Medical College while Denying 50 percent of their MBBS seats as government quota have announced their own 'hiked' fee structure in the state.

Their fee structure and seat distribution for MBBS courses are at variation with the structure notified by the state government on February 6.

As per state government rules, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) will conduct a centralized counselling on the basis of this notification to fill MBBS seats in the state 's medical colleges in July. However,Sri Guru Ram Das Medical College and Adesh Medical College have gone ahead and announced their hiked fee structure and committed that none of their 300 MBBS seats will be offered under the government quota.

However, Minister for Medical Education and Research Brahm Mohindra justified the fee hike and denial of govt quota seat on the part of the two as a measure to make the two institutions financially viable.

"Two private medical colleges in the state, Gian Sagar and Chintpurni college, are already closed as they failed to arrange the required finance," said the minister reminded the Tribune.

Announcing 128 of the total 150 MBBS seats as management quota seats, Bathinda-based Adesh Medical College has declared its tuition fee as Rs 63.94 lakh for a full course. For the remaining 22 NRI quota seats, the fee has been declared as US $1.25 lakh.

On the other hand Guru Ram Das Medical College, Amritsar has fixed Rs 46.33 lakh as tuition fee for its 128 management quota seats and US $1.10 lakh as its NRI payment.

February 6 notification of the state government announces that 50% of the seats in private medical institutions have to be retained as government quota while the remaining 50% as management quota(including 15% for NRI quota).

Fee for a government quota seat in a private college is fixed at Rs 13.43 lakh for a full course, while the management quota seat is to cost Rs 40.29 lakh; and US $1.1 lakh for the NRI quota seat.

Vice-Chancellor, Adesh Medical University, GPI Singh claimed that being an autonomous university it was free to formulate its own statutes, ordinances and regulations and fee for its college under the Adesh University Act. "The notification is wrong at many levels and we have already written to the state government to amend it," he told Tribune.

Meanwhile, Sri Guru Ram University of Health Sciences authorities expressed a similar sentiment that also expressed they have full authority to prescribe fee and regulate seat distribution under the Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Science Ordinance.