No MBBS fees beyond 4.5 years: NMC exclusively authorised to prescribe course duration, FRC can only fix fee structure- Commission tells Kerala HC

Kochi: After the Kerala High Court stayed the National Medical Commission's (NMC) order directing medical colleges to refund fees collected for an additional six months, the Commission recently informed the court that the authority to prescribe the duration of any medical course rests exclusively with the NMC and that the Fee Regulatory Committee can fix fees only for that duration.

Filing a statement before the Kerala High Court, the Commission said that medical colleges have no authority to collect fees beyond the prescribed 4.5-year MBBS course as fixed by the NMC.

The statement came in response to a petition filed by the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association challenging the NMC's direction to refund fees collected for an additional six months from MBBS students.

In June 2026, a single bench of the Kerala High Court comprising Justice P V Kunhikrishnan stayed the operation of the NMC direction for 3 months and allowed the petitioner-colleges, including Jubilee Mission Medical College, Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, and Pushpagiri Medical College, to continue collecting the fees fixed by the fee regulatory committee for now.

The HC bench passed the direction while considering an interlocutory application filed by the Secretary of Kolenchery Medical College and others, challenging the communication dated June 6 issued to the Director of Medical Education (DME), Kerala, directing it to take immediate measures to refund the excess fees to the students.

Also read- Kerala HC stays NMC order on MBBS fee refunds, allows medical colleges to continue existing fee collection for 3 months

The association contended that it had collected only the fee prescribed by the fee regulatory committee and that NMC’s direction to refund the fee collected for the additional six months would impose a substantial financial burden on its member institutions.

Rejecting this contention, the NMC told the court, as quoted by TOI, that the fee regulatory committee has the authority only to determine and regulate fees for the duration of the course prescribed by the Commission. It stated that the authority to prescribe the duration of any medical course rests exclusively with the NMC and that no other authority can alter or extend the duration while fixing fees.

NMC also submitted that the committee is required to fix the fee in accordance with the duration prescribed by the commission.

The Commission further informed the court that it issued the refund notice after receiving complaints from several MBBS students alleging that medical colleges in Kerala had collected fees for an additional six months in violation of the statutory provisions. The students also sought action against the colleges concerned and requested a refund of the excess fee collected.

The NMC submitted that the National Medical Commission Act, 2019 (NMC Act), was enacted to regulate the medical education system in the country. Section 10(1)(i) of the Act empowers the commission to frame guidelines for determining fees and other charges for 50% of the seats in private medical institutions and deemed-to-be universities governed by the provisions of the Act.

The NMC Act empowers the Under Graduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB) of the NMC to determine standards for undergraduate medical education. Accordingly, the UGMEB has framed the Under Graduate Medical Education Regulations (UGMER) and the Competency-Based Medical Education Guidelines, 2024 (CBME), which prescribe that the MBBS course comprises four and a half years of academic study followed by one year of Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship (CRMI).

"The internship is a mandatory training component and does not form part of the prescribed academic duration. Therefore, medical colleges are not justified in collecting fees for five or five-and-a-half years from medical students, as doing so amounts to unjust enrichment. The fact that the overall period may be extended due to examinations, the declaration of results or other administrative reasons does not alter the prescribed academic duration of the MBBS course," the NMC submitted before the High Court, as per The Hindu report. 

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that, issuing a public notice on April 7, 2026, NMC had strictly directed all medical colleges to charge fees only for the prescribed academic duration of four and a half years. The Commission had issued this direction after noting that certain medical colleges under its purview were charging fees for the entire duration of five years or five and a half years from the MBBS students.

NMC had stated in the notice that any instance of non-compliance with the directive would be viewed seriously, and appropriate action will be taken as per existing statutory and regulatory provisions. The Commission had clarified that such practices were not consistent with the prescribed academic structure of the MBBS programme and they result in charging fees for periods that do not constitute academic teaching.

Subsequently, the petitioner colleges had moved the Kerala High Court, and those writ petitions are still pending before a single bench. Meanwhile, NMC on June 6 issued a further communication to the DME asking it to take steps to ensure the refund of excess fees. Following this, the petitioner-colleges filed the Interlocutory Application.

It was submitted by the Kolenchery Medical College that it was established in 2002, and since 2007, fees had been collected strictly in accordance with the rates fixed by the fee regulatory committee. It was also pointed out that 19 batches of students had graduated from the college during this period and the implementation of the NMC's direction would impose a substantial financial burden of approximately Rs 44.28 crore on the institution.

Also read- NMC directs medical colleges to charge MBBS fees only for 4.5 years, warns against non-compliance