Ensure pvt med colleges collect govt panel fixed fees only: Alagiri

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president KS Alagiri on Friday urged the state government to ensure that the self-financing medical colleges and deemed universities collect fees fixed by the fees fixing committee of the state government for MBBS and BDS courses.

Drawing the attention of the state government to the complaints of parents of medical students admitted to private and deemed to be universities that they were asked to pay Rs 3 to 5 lakh more than the fees fixed by the state, Alagiri referred to the upward fee revision done for the institutions by the fee determination committee led by justice Venkatraman. He said that students admitted to self-financing and private universities under government quota pay Rs 4.35 to Rs 4.5 lakh per year. Citing the Rs 5.4 lakh fee ceiling fixed for MBBS courses in private medical universities by the government, the TNCC chief said that the private medical colleges are demanding excess fees from students.

“How is it fair to demand more fees from parents who only anticipated Rs 5 lakh per year? Self-financing medical colleges are collecting between Rs 15 and 20 lakh per year. Deemed to be universities are collecting Rs 25 to 30 lakh per annum. The same has been apprised to the Madras High Court in a related case,” Alagiri added.

Remarking that despite securing admission, many students are unable to pursue medical education because of exorbitant fees, Alagiri asked the government to monitor if self-financing and deemed universities collect fees fixed by the fee determination committee.

Also referring to the collection of Rs 4 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh for MBBS and BDS courses, respectively, at the medical college, which functioned under Annamalai University before it was taken over by the state in 2013, Alagiri said that the fees in the college has not been reduced despite the government promising the same. He asked the state government to collect fees on par with other government medical college at Cuddalore.