Kerala Govt to move SC over MBBS fee hike in private medical colleges

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Government has decided to approach the Supreme Court challenging the high fee structure set by self-financing medical colleges.

Health Minister KK Shailaja said that senior advocates of the Supreme Court would be appointed to represent the government.

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"It is by no means acceptable that some managements try to disrupt admissions every year by setting high fee structure. This is a challenge for the students," she said.

The fee regulatory committee had fixed the fee ranging from Rs 6.32 lakh to Rs 7. 65 lakh for MBBS courses in various self-financing colleges for the academic year. But some of the self-financing medical colleges are demanding fees of more than Rs 20 lakh. In the backdrop, the government is moving to the Supreme Court against the exorbitant fee that according to the Health Department will make higher studies difficult for students.

Earlier, the Kerala High Court instructed to re-evaluate the fee structure fixed by the fee regulatory committee and asked to inform the students that they may have to pay the maximum fee demanded by the college management.

The High Court had said that this year's fees would be based on the final order of the court or any other Court-entrusted authority. If there is a hike in fees, the students would have to pay that amount.

The Commissioner of Entrance Examinations was asked to issue a notification in this regard. 

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