BHUBANESWAR: Amid a raging debate over exorbitant costs of medical education in India, Odisha government’s decision to hike the fees for both MBBS and BDS courses further has sparked strong resentment among the parents and students.
As per the recommendation of the State Fee Regulating Committee (FRC), the State government has increased the fees for MBBS/BDS and super-specialty by 28 per cent (pc) and 49 pc respectively apart from the hostel fees for MBBS/BDS students by 40 pc. While the revised fee structure will be applicable for all government medical colleges from this academic session, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued a guideline asking all states to ensure that the fee of 50 pc seats in the private medical colleges is on par with the government medical colleges.
Odisha Parents Federation (OPF), a forum fighting for regulation of the education system in the State, has opposed the hike and appealed the government to roll it back at any cost.
Stating that the sudden rise in the course fees will be an extra burden on the poor parents during the pandemic, which has crippled the economy, the forum has submitted a memorandum to Naveen Patnaik seeking immediate withdrawal.
OPF chairman Basudev Bhatta said people have lost their income in the pandemic and are struggling to cope up with the situation. In a State like Odisha, many dream to admit their children in government medical colleges for better education and to get rid of exorbitant fees charged by private institutions. The hike will deprive many poor from getting admission, he reasoned.
After the hike in government colleges, the private medical colleges too are getting prepared to increase their fees. While the seats in private colleges are now charged somewhere between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 80 lakh, it is expected to cross Rs 1 crore each.
However, the fee structure in the government medical colleges has been revised from Rs 45,500 to Rs 67,800 for super-specialty courses and Rs 29,694 to Rs 37,950 for MBBS/BDS courses per annum. There has been 51 pc and 32 pc hike in government fees, including tuition and admission fees respectively. In addition, different university fees, as applicable, will be collected from the students. The hostel fees of the super-specialty students will be at par with PG students. But it has been hiked from Rs 10,000 to Rs 14,000 for MBBS/BDS students.
A senior health official said the fee structure in Odisha is one of the lowest in the country and has been revised in view of the cost of living and price rise.