Maharashtra FRA slaps show cause notices on Medical Colleges for Charging Excessive Caution Money from Students

Mumbai: Almost all the private medical colleges in Maharashtra were recently issued show-cause notices by the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) for allegedly charging the students huge caution money, exceeding the limit. This comes only days after FRA put a cap on the amount of deposit money that can be charged. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that FRA had barred the medical colleges from charging more than Rs 50,000.

Apart from highlighting the practice of these medical colleges charging more than the prescribed amount as caution money, the fee panel in the State has also questioned why the colleges were forcing students to opt for the hostel facilities.

In the notices issued to 22 private medical colleges, FRA reiterated its earlier decision on August 28 prescribing the upper limits for the caution money and deposits charged at the time of admitting students. FRA clarified that its resolution was mandatory and should be strictly followed, adding that any breach and violation would attract action under Section 20 of the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions Act of 2015. Further, the colleges were asked not to deny admissions to the allotted students through the centralised admission process (CAP) rounds.

Also Read: Not More than Rs 50,000 as Caution Money for MBBS: FRA Warns Private Medical Colleges over Exploitative Fees

FRA issued the show-cause after the grievance redressal cell of the fee panel received complaints from students. Commenting on the matter, FRA member Dharmendra Mishra told TOI that the medical aspirants had approached the grievance cell complaining that the they were being forced by the colleges to pay the additional amounts in the name of gymkhana, library, laboratory, hostel and mess even though FRA had issued an order in this regard last week.

"FRA has issued show-cause notices to these colleges and has also asked them to display this information on their portals. Some of the institutes have conveyed that they are not forcing any student to pay extra fees during the admission process," Mishra told TOI, further adding that they also independently checked the college portals.

As per the latest media report by the Times of India, by the evening of Wednesday, at least six colleges responded to FRA. NKP Salve Institute, Nagpur claimed that it had inadvertently put the caution money notice from 2023-2024, which it had withdrawn, and assured that a revised one had been put up.

The explanation provided by Karjat-based NT Tasgaonkar Institute was that being located in a rural area, most of its students chose to stay at the hostel. It also submitted that the caution money had been capped at Rs 50,000.

Meanwhile, Parbhani Medical College stated that it had been following all the rules and Navi-Mumbai-based Terna Medical College submitted that it had not denied admission to any of the students. It also submitted that the hostel facilities were not mandatory. However, some of the students and parents had asked for the facilities only during the examinations and they were directed to opt for admission in the hostel.

Free Press Journal has reported that candidates who were allotted seats at Terna Medical College, Nerul, alleged that the college refused to reduce the Rs 1.7 lakh it charges as hostel deposit and caution money. The students were shocked after being told that they would have to compulsorily enrol at the institute's hostel, despite the fact that they lived nearby and were willing to commute.

The students further claimed that the college was also creating hurdles for female students to avail the fee waiver introduced by the State for women pursuing professional courses. The female students were allegedly being asked to sign an undertaking stating that they would have to pay the entire fee unless the college received the reimbursement for the fee waiver from the Government by December.

Solapur-based Ashwini Rural Medical College mentioned in its explanation that it had released a revised fee structure on August 31, capping the caution money at Rs 50,000. Even though MIMER College prayed for more time from the FRA, the fee panel turned down its request.

FRA member Dharmendra Mishra mentioned that if the students were being charged any amount more than the tuition and development fees and deposit of Rs 50,000 at the time of admission, they should approach the grievance cell at fragrievance2024@gmail.com.

Commenting on the matter, the former judge of Bombay High Court and FRA chairman Vijay Lakhichand Achliya pointed out that overcharging caution money had been a long pending issue. He added, "Even in 2021, the colleges were directed to refrain from charging caution money and the then authority had left it to the wisdom of colleges. But the directions were never heeded by the colleges, forcing the authority to cap the amount."

Also Read: Do not Charge MBBS Fees in Advance: FRA directs Nagpur's Medical College