With NEET, private medical education costly

Mumbai: Parents are complaining of having to shell out far more than what they did earlier for admissions of their wards to various private and deemed universities.According to them, ever since the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) has been announced as the mandatory exam for all admissions to private colleges in the state, they have had to spend almost double the usual expenses incurred.

According to parents, the Supreme Court upholding the NEET 2016, as the selection criterion, has made them spend an amount ranging from 30 thousand to 1 lakh for the crash courses.

"We also had to bear the additional costs of study material," said Shreedevi Poduval, a parent from the city.

Making matters worse, deemed and private universities have hiked their fees by 15 per cent. Parents on the other hand, have had to shell out an amount close to Rs 10,000 each for litigation, for every intervention in the Bombay High Court.

Most private universities had hiked their fees from Rs 5-7 lakhs to Rs 7-10 lakhs . Deemed universities on the other hand have moved up from Rs 9-12 lac fee to Rs 12-18 lac, respectively. While the state has issued a notification that the fee regulation committee would approve or disapprove the fee structures; parents however, have to pay the present costs.

Parents are also following a case in the Bombay High Court. The court is hearing Public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Mahatma Gandhi Vidyamandir's KBH Dental College and Hospital, along with some students challenging the quota rules, which allow reservations in favour of local students. The students are asking the state to prepare a fresh list of applicants as per the all India quota.