NEW DELHI: Tuition fee for half the MBBS seats in private medical colleges, including deemed universities, will be regulated by medical education regulator starting next year, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided.
The provision is part of National Medical Commission Act and as the Centre has fast-tracked the setting up the National Medical Commission it has asked the existing regulator-Medical Council of India-Board of Governors to recommend fee for 50% seats in private medical colleges that can act as base for the NMC and can be enforced from the upcoming academic session.
Fee for seats in private medical colleges, except for management quota seats, are decided by state level committees in some states but nearly 80 deemed universities in the country-fee for which run the highest are beyond regulation.
“NMC will correct many malaises in the medical education sector that includes exorbitant fee in various private medical colleges and the exercise has already begun to enforce it from 2020,” declared Union health minister Harsh Vardhan while describing the role of the proposed commission.
The minister also stressed that while fee for half the seats in private medical colleges will be fixed by the Commission centrally, states will continue to regulate the fee charged for the rest of 50% seats as well, if they so wish.
“So the concern that fee for 50% seats in every college will go through the ceiling, is unfounded,” he said. This year, over 80,000 students enrolled to study medicine, 38,090 had to contend with private medical colleges that are seen as “super expensive”.
“Fee in private medical colleges vary from Rs 7-8 lakh per annum to over Rs 20 lakh annually in case of various deemed universities and that has been a major concern for us — so reining in private colleges at the earliest is on top of our agenda,” a senior official in the medical education division said.
Authorities also said that appointments for the key positions in the NMC are already underway and should be completed by this month.