After backlash, Gujarat govt partially rolls back MBBS fee hike in GMERS medical colleges
Ahmedabad: After facing severe backlash over whooping 87 percent fee hike for MBBS courses at GMERS institutions, the Gujarat government has partially rolled back the increase in fee structure.
According to recent report by PTI, in a relief to medical aspirants, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced a reduction in fees for MBBS courses in 13 colleges under the state-run Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS), which it had recently hiked.
The state government's decision to reduce the fees has come after protests by students and political parties.
The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said.
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Speaking to PTI in Gandhinagar, Patel said the state government, in the interest of the students, has decided to reduce the fee for 2,100 MBBS seats in 13 GMERS colleges.
For the government quota, the existing fee of Rs 5.5 lakh has been reduced to Rs 3.75 lakh and in the management quota, it has been brought down to Rs 12 lakh from Rs 17 lakh, indicating a reduction of 80 per cent and 62.5 per cent respectively. The new fee structure will be applicable from the medical academic year of 2024-25, he said.
Last month, the state government issued a notification for hiking fees at GMERS colleges for 2024-25.
In government quota seats, the annual fee of Rs 3.3 lakh was hiked to Rs 5.5 lakh, while for management quota, it was increased to Rs 17 lakh from Rs 9 lakh, the notification stated.
Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had staged protests against the hike, and the Gujarat Congress had threatened to launch a stir if the government failed to withdraw its decision.
Amid these protests and demands for a rollback, a discussion was held at a meeting in Gandhinagar on Monday. GMERS officials justified the decision of increasing the fees with financial statements from the 13 medical colleges, showing annual fees for the open category increased from Rs 2.5 lakh in 2011 to Rs 5.5. lakh after adjustments.
On the other hand, the representatives of ABVP, IMA, and NMO, who were also present in the meeting, opposed the fee hike referring to the fact that the GMERS colleges receive state funding. They proposed government allocation of Rs 18-20 crore per college to ease the burden on the students and the parents. They also pointed out that in the medical colleges in other States, fees are equivalent to the government rates on 50% of their seats.
NMO and ABVP officials along with the parents had raised concerns regarding the fee hike. The parents of the medical students submitted that they have to plan for paying the fees in advance. Therefore, the decision for a fee hike only days before the commencement of the course put them in a difficult situation to arrange the fees.
Some parents had even started to prepare to file a plea before the High Court demanding the cancellation of the medical society itself
