Thursday, June 14, 2018

MBBS education gets more elusive as deemed varsities hike fees by 50-80%

Yogita.Rao@timesgroup.com

Mumbai: 14.06.2018

Sought-after deemed universities in the state have hiked their MBBS fees by 50% to 80% this academic year.

Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Karad, saw the steepest hike among these. Its fees have almost doubled to Rs 22 lakh from last year’s Rs 12 lakh—an over 80% hike. While the fees of D Y Patil’s Navi Mumbai college were the highest last year at Rs 25 lakh per annum, its Pune institute has now hiked its charges by almost 50% from Rs 17.5 lakh per annum in 2017 to Rs 26 lakh this year, making it the most expensive MBBS degree in the state. The group’s Kolhapur college, too, hiked its fees by close to 60% to Rs 22 lakh.

Fees at deemed universities are not governed by the state’s Fee Regulating Authority.

The cost of an MBBS degree in at least six of the 11 colleges affiliated to deemed universities in the state has crossed Rs 20 lakh this year.

KIMS also has the most expensive MBBS seat for students seeking admission under the NRI quota. Fees for students in the NRI quota at the institute stand at Rs 66.8 lakh, followed by four other colleges that offer quota seats at Rs 40.6 lakh. Fees at both the colleges under MGM Group in Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad, though, are unchanged at Rs 20 lakh.

Fees at these medical colleges do not include hostel fees. In some of the institutes, the amount payable at the time of admission are Rs 1-2 lakh more than the decided tuition fees. If the cost of the entire four-and-ahalf-year programme at the six colleges is considered, the total fees work out to over Rs 1 crore for general category students and over Rs 2 crore for those under the NRI quota. Fees of other colleges such as the one run by Bharati Vidyapeeth have seen a 20-25% hike over the past year.

Sudha Shenoy from a parents’ association said the high fees have dissuaded several meritorious candidates from seeking admission in deemed universities.

“The hike in some of the colleges is astounding. Some rural colleges do not even offer value for money. Many students who do not make it to private colleges look at deemed universities as an option. But very few such as the Rural Medical College at Pravara and M G Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, have an annual fee of less than Rs 15 lakh,” said Shenoy.

Another parent said that KIMS reduced 50 seats this year, and therefore fees for the remaining ones may have seen an “unreasonable” hike.

A senior KIMS official refused to comment on the fee hike. An official from the D Y Patil Group said the fees have been hiked in view of the the salaries to be paid to the teaching and non-teaching staff under the Seventh Pay Commission. “For running any hospital, any group would require Rs 3-4 crore every month. When the government calculates the cost of MBBS education for one student, it does not take into account the cost of running a hospital. This, in addition to the salaries, was accounted for while deciding the fees,” said the official.

Registration for admissions to MBBS and BDS courses at deemed universities commenced on Wednesday, Meanwhile, among private colleges in the state, Kashibai Navale College charges the most at Rs 12 lakh a year. 


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