SC, ST PG medicos oppose medical college decision on collecting tuition fee

The management of the medical institution has cited the lack of clarity in the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) Prospectus as the reason. On the other hand, DME officials have claimed that there shouldn't be any confusion after the G.O. even though it has not been made clear in the Prospectus. However, amidst all this confusion, it is the students who are suffering and as the last date of paying the fees was April 5, anxiety increased among the students.

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As per the latest media report by the New Indian Express, the PG minority students have claimed that as per the Government Order, they should only pay Rs 860. While commenting on the matter, a former PG medical student of the institution told the daily, "This is a problem every year. These students are exempted from tuition fees and I don't know why the management doubts it. When other medical colleges are clear, Stanley is always confused. For SC/ST final-year PG medical students the fee is only `860. But the management is asking for Rs 36,000."

Meanwhile, the college authorities have denied all the allegations related to ordering the students to pay the fees. Mentioning that they are waiting for the clarification from the DME, the Dean of the institute, Dr. P Balaji said, "It is because the DME prospectus is not clear about it. The old Government Order mentions schools and colleges, but there is no clarity about medical colleges. Also, it is not clear about students getting stipends. These PG students are paid Rs 55,000 towards stipend every month. So, it is not clear whether they are also exempted. So, we have written to the DME to get clarification through the Adi Dravidar Department. But, we have not collected any tuition fee from the students so far."

"We need some written statement from the DME so that it is not a problem for us later. We told the students that they can pay other fee and not the tuition fee. Even if they pay, they can get reimbursement. So it won't be a problem," said another official of the college.

However, DME reckons that there shouldn't be any confusion regarding the matter. "For years, that has been the G.O., and it's an established fact that SC/ ST students are exempted from tuition fee. There should not be any confusion in this now whether it is clear in the prospectus or not," added Dr. R Narayana Babu, Director of Medical Education.

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