TS decides on zero fee hike for convener quota
The Telangana Government has decided to increase the fees for MBBS and BDS seats under the management quota by five per cent. There will be no fee hike for seats under the convener’s quota.
Private colleges in Telangana had proposed a five per cent fee hike, against the norms of the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC). The Government has rejected the fee hike for convener quota seats, but it has approved the hike for Category B seats.
According to a GO released by the government on Thursday, the Telangana Private Medical and Dental Association had requested a revision of the existing fee structure, keeping in mind the financial constraints of educational institutes, for the academic year 2017-18. After careful examination of the proposal, the government has decided not to increase the fees of the Category A seats, however, it has approved a five per cent hike in tuition fees for Category B seats. The fees for Category C shall not be exceeded twice the fees for Category B for the current academic year, for private unaided non-minority and dental colleges in the state.
The Healthcare Reform Doctors Association (HRDA) acquired a reply from the TAFRC under the RTI, regarding the fee fixation for MBBS and PG courses for the period from 2016 to 2019, and it found that the fees had been fixed for the period from 2016 to 2019 in the year 2015. According to the norms, the fees of MBBS and PG fees cannot be hiked before the 2019-20 academic year.
The parents of students studying under the management quota have condemned the five percent hike for Category B seats in violation of the Supreme Court judgement. They will have to bear an additional burden because of the fee hike.
Dr K. Mahesh Kumar said, “The HRDA condemns the five per cent hike in MBBS and BDS course fees for private medical colleges by the Government. It violates the Supreme Court judgment in the Inamdar and Islamic Academy Educational Society case, and it has bypassed the TAFRC recommendations for 2016-19, during which period fees are not supposed to be hiked again. The act will lay a burden of six crores per annum on parents and students. The government should revoke its GO related to the fee hike.”