28 percent MBBS seats in the country cost more than Rs 10 lakh annually in Tuition: Report

Only by looking at the facts, it would be clear that almost half of the seats in the private medical colleges in the country (excluding deemed universities) belong to the management quota or NRI quota. Whereas the NRI quota seats charge roughly Rs 25 lakh per annum, the fees for the management quota seats range around Rs 11 lakh. However, the fees differ depending on the State, as fees at the private colleges in West Bengal cost very little when compared to those in Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that in Haryana as well, although the MBBS fees had been Rs 80,000 with 10 percent rise per year, the salient feature of the policy had been the compulsory bond of Rs 10 lakh per annum which every candidate would have to deposit at the beginning of every year for the 4 and half year course duration.

This effectively implied for those who would do government service after MBBS the fees would start at Rs 80,000. However, for those who do not wish to do government service, the effective fees would be Rs 10 lakh per annum.

Also Read: MBBS admissions: At Rs 10 lakh per year, government medical colleges in Haryana now as expensive as private ones

The Times of India had analyzed the scenario in detail by taking into account the fees for the MBBS course in over 530 MBBS colleges and it had resulted in the observation that more than 28% of MBBS seats in the country cost more than Rs 10 lakh per annum.

TOI has further added that the most expensive seats have been present in the deemed universities. These Universities host almost 8,500 seats, making it almost 10% of all MBBS seats in the country. The average annual tuition fees for NRI seats in these colleges are Rs 36 lakh, making it about Rs 1.6 crore for the entire course. The average fees for management seats in them are Rs 18 lakh.

The daily further adds that even some of the Government colleges, mostly in Gujarat (11 colleges) and Rajasthan (8 colleges) have management seats (1,350) and NRI seats (580) at an average Rs 18.5 lakh. The management quota seats in these government colleges range from Rs 7.3 lakh to Rs 18 lakh per annum in some of Gujarat's municipal medical colleges in Gujarat. Others could also be as low as Rs 75,000 in Rajasthan to Rs 1 .3 lakh in Doon Medical College in Uttarakhand.

In Punjab as well, the fees for MBBS seats in the Government medical colleges rank among the highest (Rs 7.8 lakh per annum) in the country. The government colleges in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh charge almost one lakh per year.

On the other hand, West Bengal and Bihar are known to offer the cheapest medical education in the country, adds the Daily. The Government colleges in West Bengal charge Rs 9,000 as tuition fees and Rs 144 as hostel fees. The private colleges based in West Bengal too charge little fees ( Rs 5 lakh for management seats and about Rs 15 lakh for NRI seats) for the MBBS course. In Bihar, the MBBS course fees at the Government medical colleges are about Rs 6,000 as tuition fees and Rs 4,200-20,000 as hostel fees.

The cheapest medical education gets offered by the Centrally-funded institutions. 15 AIIMS altogether accounts for almost 1,100 MBBS seats and charge only Rs 1,628 or Rs 5,856 per annum.

TOI has reported that most State governments have cited the high cost of medical education as the reason for pushing up fees. However, as per the latest expenditure survey done by the NSO in 2017-18, even before the economic crisis caused by the Pandemic, the monthly expenditure of 80% of Indian families was less than Rs 10,500.

The report by the daily mentions the 2016 report of the Parliamentary Standing Committee which had criticized the "admission procedures which are primarily monetary-based". It had been the recommendation of the Committee itself to arrange a common entrance test "to ensure that merit and not the ability to pay becomes the criterion for admission to medical colleges". However, with the fees remaining unchecked the situation hasn't changed much since.

As a result, the daily has added, even the candidates with ranks below 6 lakh in NEET are getting admitted for MBBS, though there are only about 83,000 MBBS seats.