Faridkot: NMC norms given go-by, no fee cut for 50% seats in private medical colleges

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, September 8

Students aspiring to do MBBS course have been left in a state of confusion due to the silence of the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) on the National Medical Commission’s (NMC) new guidelines to reduce fee for half of the total approved seats in private medical colleges.

Over Rs 11L difference

• Fee of government quota seats in private medical colleges is Rs 20.45 lakh
• While the fee at the government medical colleges is Rs 8.62 lakh

Following an announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the NMC had in March announced that fee for 50 per cent of the seats in private medical institutes would be reduced to the level of government institutes from this academic year.

In the DMER notification on August 22 to regulate admissions to MBBS and BDS courses in the state, the fee structure for private medical colleges shows 5 per cent annual hike and there is no mention of the NMC guidelines.

Dr Avnish Kumar, Director, Medical Education and Research, Punjab, said the department was yet to take a decision in this regard as some private medical colleges across the country had challenged the NMC guidelines.

In the DMER’s notification, full MBBS course fee in three government medical colleges in the state is Rs 8.62 lakh. The fee in private medical colleges is Rs 52.60 lakh for the management quota and Rs 20.45 lakh for the government quota seats, respectively.

As per the NMC guidelines, on the basis of their score in NEET-UG, a student will be first offered a seat in government medical colleges. Next, a seat in private medical colleges (on the fee at par with the government colleges).

But in the notification issued by the DMER, there is no seat in private medical colleges which has the fee structure at par with government ones.

“We were expecting that 50 per cent of total seats in private colleges, which are known as government quota seats, will be offered to us at the fee of government medical colleges but in the notification, the fee of the government quota seats in private medical college is Rs 20.45 lakh against the fee of Rs 8.62 lakh in the government medical colleges,” said Kulwant Singh, father of a student. In Punjab, 11 medical institutes offer 1,650 MBBS seats.

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