Solan college hikes fee for MBBS

Bhanu P Lohumi

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Tribune News Service

Shimla, September 17

The government, which had failed to force Maharshi Markandeshwar Medical College (MMMC), Kumarhatti (Solan), to get affiliation from Himachal Pradesh University in the past four years, has showered largesse on the college by approving exorbitantly high fee structure with 10 per cent increase every year for the next five years.

The move is unprecedented as the fee for MBBS students under the state quota seats has been increased from Rs 5-lakh at present to Rs 7-lakh (2017-18), Rs 7.7-lakh (2018-19), Rs 8.47 lakh(2019-20), Rs 9,31,700 (2020-21) and Rs 10,24,870 (2021-22).

Parents of the students were agitated over the high fee structure but instead of scaling down the fee, the government evolved a novel mechanism to double the annual fee in five years without any fresh approval.

Normally, the fee structure, along with details of the seats, is published in the prospectus but in case of the MMMU, the fee structure has been approved after admissions. The government has made a mockery of quota seats as many meritorious students, who got admission through NEET and centralised counselling, could not avail the opportunity due to exorbitant fee.

Even for management quota seats, the fee has been hiked from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, Rs 13.20 lakh, Rs 14.52 lakh, Rs 15.97 lakh and Rs 17,56.920 over the next five years, ending 2021-22. The fee for seats under the NRI quota has also been increased to $28,980, $33,327, $38,326, $44,275 and $50,686 for the next five years.

There are 150 MBBS seats in colleges out of which 75 seats are in the state quota and remaining seats in the management and NRI quota.

The government had hiked the MBBS course fee for government medical colleges from Rs 45,000 to Rs 60,000 in the first year while the fee for second, third, fourth and fifth was increased from Rs 37,000 to Rs 50,000 per annum.

It implies that the total fee paid by students for the entire course will be Rs 2.60 lakh while the students admitted to the MMMC under the state quota seats will have to shell out Rs 42,73,570, besides hostel, mess and other expenses. The difference in fee between MBBS seats in government colleges and government quota seats in the MMMC is fifteen times. There is no provision in the Maharshi Markandeshwar University (MMU) Act to affiliate any college and grant of affiliation to the MMMC is violation of the Act but the government has not taken any action.

The BJP, which constantly demands the resignation of the Chief Minister, has not taken any notice of violations by the MMMC. The government passed the Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences Bill and all medical education institutions under modern system of medicine and Indian system of medicine, including medical, dental, Ayurveda, nursing and other related institutions, will deemed to be affiliated to the new university. The Bill is pending assent of the Governor.