VIJAYAWADA: The huge registration fees for appearing for the NEET UG counselling has become a burden for MBBS and BDS aspirants. As the State entered the national pool this year, the students ended up paying for all-India quota, deemed universities, State counselling and Telangana State counselling.
To attend counselling in the All-India Quota (AIQ) and deemed universities, the candidates have to pay Rs 2,05,000. If the candidate fails to get a seat, Rs 5,000 would be deducted and the remaining amount would be returned after the counselling.
M Anjana (name changed), MBBS aspirant from Vijayawada, said she was shocked at the time of registration for AIQ and deemed universities as she was asked to pay Rs 2,05,000 for exercising options of colleges listed under the two categories. Anjana says, “I didn’t believe my eyes after seeing the huge amount for registration. After referring the FAQ, I understood that I have to pay Rs 2 lakh.”
At the time of registration, students have to pay two kinds of fee, one for deemed universities, in which candidates have to pay a non-refundable registration fee of Rs 5,000 and refundable security amount of Rs 2,00,000. For example, any candidate opting for deemed university has to pay Rs 5,000 as non-refundable fee and Rs 2,00,000 as refundable security amount at the time of registration.
Non-refundable fee
For AIQ, Central universities, AFMS and ESI, non-refundable registration fee is Rs 1,000 for general candidates and Rs 500 for SC/ ST/OBC/PH candidates and refundable security amount is Rs 10,000 for general candidates and Rs 5,000 for SC/ST/OBC/PH candidates. In this scenario, any general candidate opting for Central universities/AFMS/ESI will have to pay Rs 11,000 at the time of registration and any SC/ST/OBC/PH candidate has to pay Rs 5,500 at the time of registration.
Also if a candidate has to register for both deemed universities and AIQ, he has to pay the higher fee, which is fee for Deemed University (Rs 2,05,000) as security amount and registration fee. The situation is no different in State counselling as candidates are paying Rs 3,000 for attending AP medical counselling and another Rs 3,000 for Telangana State counselling. Similarly, if the candidate wants to try for a seat in other States, he has to pay the registration fee prescribed by that particular State. The candidates and parents are furious with the different registration fees and security deposits.
Anjana says, “I feel lucky as I could afford to pay the huge amount of registration fees. But, this is hard for majority of the candidates, who can’t afford to pay such heavy amount as registration fees for deemed universities. Also paying multiple times for attending counselling for AIQ and State quotas is a bit harsh.”
Another candidate Y Yashwanth Chowdary said, “We knew that medical education is costly. Now, attending counselling for getting a seat to study medicine has become costly. One of my friends, who secured a decent rank, couldn’t apply for deemed universities only because of the high registration fees.”
Dr S Appala Naidu, Registrar of NTR University of Health Sciences, says, “For unreserved candidates, we are charging Rs 3,000 and for SC/ST/PH candidates, we are charging Rs 2,500 as registration fees. We are charging less fees than those in other States. Some States are charging over Rs 5,000.”