Kolkata: All the private medical colleges in the state are set to revise their fee structures that may cause difficulties to the poor meritorious students during MBBS admissions under the management quota seats.
Due the exorbitant fee hike in the MBBS course, only a handful of students belonging to very rich affluent families, will be able to meet the demands of these private medical colleges from the current academic session, while poor but deserving candidates will fall short of realising their dreams of becoming doctors despite having cleared the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
According to sources, each candidate securing admission in the MBBS course under the management quota has to bear a tuition fee of Rs 57 lakh in the nine semesters altogether.
While students, who will get admission under the state quota seats, have to pay around Rs 14,22,000 for all the nine semester. Earlier, candidates securing admission under the state quota had to pay Rs 10 lakh as tuition fees for the whole course, while the candidates under the management quota used to pay Rs 36 lakh.
The Supreme Court had mandated that all private medical colleges throughout the country have to admit candidates in various undergraduate medical courses through NEET. As a result, the new system of admission imposed restrictions on the selection of candidates by these private medical colleges authorities. It was often alleged that these private medical colleges used to collect exorbitant fees from various students securing admission under the non-resident Indian quota and management quota, despite having a scheduled fee structure fixed by a committee appointed by the state government.
Following the Supreme Court order, the private medical colleges now have to admit candidates through NEET list, whereas in previous years they used to admit candidates on their choice against a huge amount of capitation fees. As there are restrictions, the private medical colleges have now decided to hike the fee structure only to cope with the situation. Following the introduction of NEET, these private medical colleges no longer enjoy the privilege of admitting candidates of their own choice, as all students will have to clear NEET to secure their admission in private colleges. Previously, most of these colleges would charge hefty fees from the candidates under the quota seats. It was often alleged that undeserving candidates got admission in medical courses in private medical colleges.
On conditions of anonymity, a senior official of a private medical college in the state said the fees are hiked as per the recommendation by the state government appointed committee. The colleges had hardly any role to play in this regard, the official claimed.
Dr A K Maity, a city based doctor said: "Poor but meritorious students will be deprived due to the exorbitant fees hike by the private medical colleges. State government must look into the matter."