50% Seats in Pvt Medical College Soon at Par With Govt Seats
Big Update for Future Medical Students!
If recent reports are to be believed, the fees of almost 50% of the seats in private medical colleges/universities will soon be at par with the government medical education institutions. The National Medical Commission that has come out with this proposal on Saturday also claimed that,
“The fee of 50% seats in the private medical colleges and deemed universities should be at par with the fee in the government medical colleges of that particular State/UT.”
It also claimed that initially, the benefit will only be available to the candidates under the government quota. The total number of such seats will only be 50% of the total sanctioned strength of the said university.
Additionally, if government quota seats are less than 50% of the total sanctioned seats, the candidates filling the rest of the seats in that 50% will have to pay the fees equivalent to the government medical college fees.
Other Provisions by the NMC
Along with the above guidelines, there are some other important provisions that have been laid down by the NMC, some of the most important ones have been mentioned below.
- The NMC said that no institutions shall charge any form/kind of capitation fees. This is in line with adhering to the principle of “education not being for-profit”.
- All costs, including the operating costs and other expenses that are important for running and maintaining the institution, are sustainable and also covered in the fees themselves. There shall be no extra exorbitant amount that shall be charged.
The NMC in its statement said that this decision was taken after extensive consultation, primarily with an Expert Committee, for fixing the fees in private medical colleges/universities as well as deemed universities.
Though uploaded on its website in May last year, the committee was reconstituted on 21st May 2021, which examined 1900 revised draft guidelines. The recommendations made by this committee were finally accepted by the NMC in its December 29, 2022 meeting.
Why This Development?
The reason behind this decision is really simple and straightforward, looking at the reasoning by the NMC!
The NMC stated that due to the Covid-19 pandemic in the previous FY, physical/offline classes were halted. This meant that student-related costs like a hostel and other maintenance charges, mess, and other charges saw a significant decline.
However, various costs related to the running of hospitals (overtime allowance, salaries, and other expenditures) have increased. Thus, the NMC had suggested the State Fee Regulatory Authority take into consideration these economic fluctuations in their average financial audit of the last 3 years.
Reactions to this Development
The medical fraternity has largely welcomed this move!
Dr. Vikas Bhatia (Executive Director, AIIMS Bibinagar) calls this a welcoming decision. He adds that the truly deserving and meritorious students with not-so-good financial backing will get better and more fair opportunities. One statement of his stands out i.e. “The Country needs the Best Doctors and It is a Good Decision”.
Dr. Anil Chandna (Executive Member, Dental Council of India) calls this a step that is “long-time due”, and a step in the right direction. He blames the Deemed-to-be universities for charging an exorbitant fee that exceeded the budget of the middle class, thus hampering the dreams of such students in the medical field.
This is all you need to know about this development. To be updated with all the regular developments for medical, engineering, and management exams in India and abroad, keep following us at https://www.mbbsadmissionabroad.in/news
