Action will be taken if private medical colleges charge 5X fees for management quota from students: FRA, Maharashtra

Mumbai: Nearly a month after the private colleges in the state were allowed to charge up to five times more than the regular fees for UG, PG, Ayurveda, Homeopathy and Unani courses under the management quota, the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) of Maharashtra on Thursday strictly prohibited private colleges from charging such high fees rates from students and warned them of strict action if failed to act accordingly. 

This comes after the FRA received a significant number of complaints from parents of students who have expressed their concerns regarding the increase in the fee structure. In these complaints, parents have claimed that certain private colleges are charging fees that are five times higher for admissions under the institutional quota. 

Although the Maharashtra government requested the FRA to allow private medical colleges to charge students applying for ayurvedic, homoeopathic, and Unani courses through institutional quota fees up to five times higher than the regular fees, the FRA has not accepted the request and thus the proposed change in the fee structure remains unconfirmed.

Also read- Fee Hike! Maha Govt permits Private institutes to Charge 5 Times More for UG, PG Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani courses

However, as per HT news report, It was revealed through the complaints that certain colleges exploited the government resolution (GR) and increased their fee structure. As a result, the fees at some colleges have exceeded ₹35 lakh- ₹40 lakh per year.

Issuing a notice in this regard, the authority stated, "It is informed to all educational institutions/colleges falling under the jurisdiction of the authority that for the academic year 2024-25, no advertisement for institutional quota admission is permitted in any newspapers or by email and other such communication media. Any claim regarding this, especially with a fee structure larger than prescribed, will be considered invalid.

As per the instructions issued by the authority on 10/11/2023, the institutions/colleges have been directed to strictly follow the rules. The authority will not consider any requests for change of norms in this regard."

Further, it added, "Therefore, the mentioned institutions/colleges must comply with the notice and ensure that no eligible student is deprived of admission due to failure to follow the norms. However, if the rules mentioned in the notice are violated, appropriate actions will be taken against the concerned institution/college by the authority."

Medical Dialogues had previously reported that Private colleges in Maharashtra have received the State Government's permission to charge up to five times more than the regular fees set by the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) for the management quota undergraduate and postgraduate seats in Ayurvedic, Homeopathy, and Unani Medicine courses.

Due to this revised fee structure, which shall be applicable from the academic year 2024-2025, the fees for these seats under the management and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota at self-financed medical colleges can increase by around 15 per cent. Therefore, the revised fees for the management quota seats in BAMS, Homeopathy, and Unani courses could be as high as Rs 13.5 lakh, whereas, the normal fees for the general category seats is around Rs 2.75 lakh.

As per the notification issued by the Government in this regard, the fee structure was revised after a request from the association of private, unaided medical colleges in Maharashtra. As per previous rules, the colleges were allowed to charge only two times the fee amount approved by FRA for general admission.

In the notice issued in 2023, the FRA clarified that private medical colleges must charge fees as per the notice dated November 10, 2023. As per the circular, the upper limit is three times the regular fees for institutional and management quotas for all courses, including MBBS, BDS, BAMS, BHMS, BPTH, and BUMS. For post-graduate courses, the upper limit is four times the regular fees.

Speaking to HT, an official working in the state government said "The decision wasn’t taken appropriately. The government must consider the views of parents before finalising a hike in fees, but instead took a one-sided decision in favour of the management."

Dharmendra Mishra, a member of the FRA, said "The authority follows a specific formula for setting the fee structure for each college. We received several complaints in our email regarding colleges demanding five times higher fees for institutional quota admissions. Considering these complaints, we issued a fresh notice to remind colleges about the upper limit. We also appeal to parents that even after this notice, if any college demands five times more money, they can file a complaint with FRA.”

Earlier, the Government's decision to increase the fees sparked a backlash from aspiring students, their parents and student organisations as they have argued that this fee hike will make a significant number of medical seats unaffordable for many aspirants. Meanwhile, critics also questioned the viability of such high fees for BAMS, BHMS, and BUMS courses, which are not as popular as mainstream MBBS courses.

Also read- Karnataka Govt announces 10 percent hike in MBBS fees at private colleges