Deemed univs hike MBBS fee by ₹2L/yr

Deemed univs hike MBBS fee by ₹2L/yr

No Cap On Fee; 5-Year Course Costs At Least ₹20L Per Year

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai:24.10.2020 

Deemed universities in the state have jacked up tuition fees for undergraduate medical course by up to ₹2.75 lakh a year. The fee for 5.5 years of MBBS could now cost up to ₹13.75 lakh more, excluding caution deposits, hostel, laptop and uniform fee.

Chennai-based deemed universities — Chettinad Academy of Research and Education and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute will charge ₹24 lakh as annual tuition fee compared to ₹22 lakh in 2019. The revised fee was published on the medical counselling committee website of the Directorate General of Health Services. Annual tuition fee at the Saveetha Medical University has gone up to ₹24.75 lakh from ₹22 lakh in 2019.

“I was hopeful that the government will come up with some regulation to cap the fee for all deemed universities. It’s sad that it did not happen,” said Saravana Kumar R, whose son is aspiring to pursue MBBS this year.

In February 2019, the UGC Regulations 2019 said no deemed university can charge more than the fee prescribed by the committee constituted under the new rules. Nine months later, on November 27, 2019, UGC placed the draft regulations for observation and suggestions of stakeholders. The regulations said, “the institution shall charge from the students only the fee approved and communicated by the fee committee and no other fee shall be demanded or collected by the institution, either directly or indirectly under any other head of account or guise.” It even proposed to impose a fine of ₹10 lakh along with refund of excess fee and penal action.

On Friday, most deemed universities told TOI they did not hear further from the commission and that there have been no circulars asking colleges to cap the fee. Most colleges in Tamil Nadu charge at least ₹20 lakh per year.

Student counsellors say the fee for lab, library, hostel and other services can cost an additional ₹2 lakh. “Students and parents should not just go by the announcement on the webpage. They should read the college prospectus carefully,” said student counsellor Sathish K. In the first round of online counselling, students can choose to join or exit colleges allotted to them, but if they don’t take the seat in the second round, they have to pay a fine of ₹2 lakh, he said.

Many meritorious students do not join deemed university in the centralised counselling. In several colleges, seats are filled only during the “stray seats vacancy counselling” done by the college.

I was hopeful that the government will come up with some regulation to cap the fee for all deemed universities. It’s sad that it did not happen

SARAVANA KUMAR R

Father of an MBBS aspirant