HYDERABAD: In a major relief to students doing their post-graduation in medicine and dentistry, the Telangana High Court on Wednesday not only struck down two GOs issued by the State government allowing un-aided non-minority medical and dental institutions to increase their tuition fees by up to 990 per cent, but also directed the return of the certificates to the students.
The State government had issued GO 41 and GO 43 that came into force from academic year 2017-18, allowing the private colleges to increase the tuition fees from 72 per cent to 990 per cent.
The GOs were challenged in court on the ground that they were issued without the approval of Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) and thus in violation of various Supreme Court judgments.
The appellants also told the High Court that making recommendations on fee structure was the responsibility of the TAFRC and not the State government.
Hearing the case, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Shameem Akthar on Wednesday quashed the two GOs and directed the colleges to collect fee in terms of GO 29, dated May 2, 2016, in line with the recommendations of TAFRC for the block period of 2016-2019. The court also directed the colleges to return any excess fee paid by the students within 30 days.
The court also directed all the medical and dental colleges in the State to forthwith return all original education and course completion certificates to the PG students who have completed their course.
Sama Sandeep Reddy, counsel for the petitioners, welcomed the order and said that thousands of post graduate medical and dental doctors were sitting idle as their original education and course completion certificates were being illegally withheld by the colleges. “Now, these doctors can start practising and strengthen the health infrastructure in the State,” Sandeep Reddy said.