CHENNAI: Health Minister Ma Subramanian on Wednesday said self-financing medical colleges should not collect any fee from medical students during the internship period, and action will be taken if any complaint is received from an aggrieved student.
Subramanian said this while replying to a discussion on a calling attention motion raised by leader of the opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, AIADMK MLA C Vijaya Baskar, VCK MLA SS Balaji, Tamilaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi MLA T Velmurugan and others.
Referring to the allegations levelled by Vijaya Baskar, Balaji and Velmurugan about the collection of excessive fees for medical courses, including internship fee by self-financing colleges, Subramanian said the fee fixation committee can take action only when complaints from individuals are received.
He also recalled how Chief Minister MK Stalin, when he was leader of the opposition, led agitations protesting the governor’s delay in approving the 7.5% government quota for undergraduate medical courses. When Subramanian said the AIADMK government issued a G.O. for 7.5% quota only after the DMK’s agitations, the AIADMK members objected to it.
Deputy leader of the opposition RB Udhayakumar said Palaniswami was the only CM in the country who issued the G.O. using Article 162 (co-existence of legislative powers) for a 7.5% government quota. Countering it, Subramanian said since the DMK staged a massive demonstration against the governor’s delay in giving assent to the bill providing for a 7.5% quota, the AIADMK government issued the G.O. to pacify students who were agitated due to NEET irregularities.