Deemed med colleges must charge same fees: Parents
Parents write to 11member panel appointed by UGC
MUMBAI: A group of parents of students from medical deemed-to-be universities have written to the fee regulation committee demanding a uniform fee structure for deemed colleges in the country.
“New fee structure must be enforced from this year and all the students should benefit from it,” said Mahendra Chaudhari, one of the parents.
The 11-member committee was appointed earlier this year by University Grants Commission (UGC) following a directive from the Madras high court to regulate fees charged at deemed medical colleges.
While the fees of private medical colleges are regulated by the bodies appointed by the state governments, such as Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) in Maharashtra, no governmental body keeps a tab on deemed colleges.
In the letter, which has been uploaded on change.org, parents have alleged that deemed colleges are charging exorbitant fees.
“Post-implementation of National Eligibility-cum-entrance Test (NEET) in 2016, deemed-to-be universities have increased tuition fee by 10% to 50% every year. In the past three years, the fee has doubled. This went unchecked owing to una-
vailability of a fee regulatory authority for these universities,” the letter reads.
While the court had directed the committee to fix the fees by October 31, functioning of the committee was put on a hold owing to a stay ordered by the Supreme Court (SC). “So far, we had one meeting. The next meeting was cancelled after the verdict. We will now proceed according to the directions of the Apex Court,” said Ajay S Chandan-
wale, dean, BJ Medical College, Pune.
The parents also said the universities are charging more than tuition fee. “A few deemed-to-be universities collects additional amount in the name of eligibility, examination and university registration fees. Fees at deemedto-be to varsities must be uniform and all additional charges must be clubbed with tuition fee,” the letter reads.
The parents also alleged that
deemed colleges have deviated from their core objective of study and research in the unique and emerging areas of knowledge not pursued by conventional institutes.
“These institutions have become a money-making factory. Meritorious students with limited financial resources are unable to pursue MBBS, which is affecting the profession and eventually the society,” the letter adds.