HYDERABAD: The Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) has clarified that private medical colleges can collect tuition fees from MBBS students only for the 4½-year academic course and cannot charge tuition fees for the one-year compulsory internship.
The clarification came after the committee received representations from medical students and parents alleging that some private medical colleges were insisting that students pay tuition fees for the entire five-year period. Complaints also alleged that students were being denied classes, examination hall tickets and biometric attendance, restricted from entering college premises and pressured to pay fees for the internship year.
The committee referred to the National Medical Commission’s April 2026 guidelines, which state that medical colleges cannot charge for the internship year, as it does not constitute academic teaching.
Some students alleged that institutions were collecting amounts towards stipends without disbursing the prescribed stipend. TAFRC said such practices, if established, would be viewed seriously and stringent action would be initiated.
Giving examples of the fee calculation, TAFRC said a college with a prescribed annual fee of Rs 14.50 lakh can collect a total of Rs 65.25 lakh for the 4½-year course — Rs 14.50 lakh for each of the first four years and Rs 7.25 lakh for the final semester. For a college with an annual fee of Rs 14 lakh, the total prescribed fee is Rs 63 lakh, while an annual fee of Rs 13 lakh translates into a total course fee of Rs 58.50 lakh.