Doctors decry hike in MBBS fee

FARIDKOT/AMRITSAR: The almost 80% fee hike announced for MBBS courses in government medical colleges from the current academic session by the Punjab government has come in for criticism from all quarters.

Calling for protests, some doctors called it an attack on youngsters wanting to become doctors, questioning the timing, especially when MBBS students were doing emergency duties in Covid-19 wards in hospitals. “This policy is an attack on future medicos, the fee hike came when the MBBS students are doing their duties in emergency wards and other departments of the hospitals where Covid-19 patients are being treated,” said Dr Jaspinder Partap Singh, president, Resident Doctors’ Association, Government Medical College, Amritsar.

“It’s a wrong step as it will put extreme financial burden on the students,” said Dr SS Gill, former vice-chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Students from financially disadvantaged families would be discouraged. Non-meritorious students from rich families will

get admissions instead of those who are meritorious, which could impact quality, he said.

GOVT SHOULD NOT ‘LOOK FOR PROFITS’

Adding that there were medical students in colleges from rural areas and poor families, he said: “There is a huge shortage of doctors in rural areas in the state. The government should provide medical education to meritorious students for a low fee so we

can produce good doctors. This is not the sector where the government should look for profits.”

Dr Birgurman Singh, studying in Government Medical College, Patiala, said, “Even at Rs 4.4 lakh, the MBBS fee in Punjab government colleges was one of the highest in the country. Also, the MBBS students of Government Medical College and Hospital, Chandigarh, pay around Rs 1.21 lakh as fee to the government over five years, which is comparatively lower than that of Punjab medical colleges.”

STIPEND INCREASE IS ‘OF NO USE’

On the government’s decision to increase the stipend of undergraduate medical and dental students from Rs 9,000 per month to Rs 15,000 per month, Dr Birgurman Singh said, “this hike will serve no purpose now.”

At present, Punjab has 1,225 MBBS seats in eight medical institutions across the state, 625 seats in five private institutions and 600 seats in three government medical colleges (GMCs).

The state will also offer 250 additional MBBS seats from this academic session as Gian Sagar Medical College and Government Medical College in Mohali district will start classes.

The Punjab cabinet increased the MBBS fee in government and private medical colleges of the state on Wednesday. The fee for the full five-year course in government-run medical colleges from this session will be Rs 7.8 lakh from Rs 4.4 lakh previously (an increase of around 80%).

In private medical colleges, the fee for government quota seats has been hiked from Rs 13.4 lakh to Rs 18 lakh (35% increase) for the course.