Amid row over capping fee, MBBS admission to start from June 29
CHANDIGARH: With Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), the nodal agency for MBBS admissions in the state, announcing the start of counselling from June 29, under the notification capping MBBS fee that the state government had issued in February this year, students and parents are confused.
The reason: the two private medical colleges, the Adesh Institute of Medical Science, Bathinda, and Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Amritsar, have challenged the notification, with the next hearing in the Punjab and Haryana high court on July 10. According to the BFUHS schedule, the first round of counselling will start on July 3 and by July 5, students will be distributed seats as per their choice.
After Saturday’s announcement, parents and students looked for distribution of seats on the BFUHS website. The varsity is yet to upload this.
According to the notification, private medical colleges will charge government-quota fee from 50% of students taking admission in MBBS. Previously, private colleges admitted all students under the management quota, where fee is high.
IN PROSPECTUSES, PVT COLLEGES LIST HIGHER FEE
In its prospectus, Adesh has shown its fee as ₹11.9 lakh per year with 10% increase each year whereas the Amritsar college has declared its fee at ₹6.6 lakh per year.
The move has also caught officials with the medical education department napping. On Friday, a senior official had told HT that students should wait for July 10 decision of the HC.
“If admissions are done as per this notification and suppose, the Punjab and Haryana high court gives its verdict against the notification, students admitted with government quota fee will be at the mercy of private colleges,” a parent from Ludhiana said.
Former Punjab Medical Council (PMC) chief Dr GS Grewal said, “Even if the court rejects the plea of the private colleges, there is no guarantee that these colleges would comply. Because these colleges are mere teaching shops, they will find a way to charge more.”
BFUHS vice-chancellor Dr Raj Bahadur said, “We will follow the new notification in letter and spirit. The seat matrix will be published on the varsity website soon.
MINISTER TO CONVENE MEETING
Punjab medical education minister Brahm Mohindra, who was in Delhi, said, he would convene a special meeting on the issue on Monday. “I will instruct varsity officials to clear all doubts of students and the parents by declaring seats on the website. We will see if counselling can be rescheduled,” the minister added.