After backlash, Gujarat govt partially rolls back MBBS fee hike in GMERS medical colleges

Written by Kajal Rajput Published On 2024-07-17T11:45:39+05:30 | Updated On 17 July 2024 3:16 PM IST

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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.

Also Read:GMERS MBBS Fee Hike to be Withdrawn? Decision likely to be declared Today: Report

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.

Also Read:Whooping Upto 87 percent MBBS fee hike in GMERS Medical Colleges

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that GMERS had increased the MBBS annual fees across all its colleges in the State by up to 87 percent on June 28. The fees for the State and all-India quota seats were increased from 3.3 lakh per annum to Rs 5.5 lakh per annum- around 66 percent.

For the management quota seats, fees were increased by 87%. While previously, the students had to pay around Rs 9.075 lakh for these management quota seats, now the fees have been increased to Rs 17 lakh.

Also Read: Rollback MBBS Fee Hike at GMERS medical Colleges: IMA Urges Gujarat Govt

The course fee for the NRI quota MBBS seats has also been increased. From $ 22,000 per annum to $25,000 per annum- the course fee for the NRI quota seats has increased by 13%.

This decision sparked controversies and was criticised by the students and the members of the medical fraternities. Opposing the decision of fee hike, recently, IMA wrote to the Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel demanding a rollback.

IMA State Chapter referred to the discontent among the students and their parents because of the fee increase and requested the Government to retract the fee increase in the interest of the less-affluent sections.

Meanwhile, the National Student Union of India (NSUI) also staged a demonstration at Gotri Medical College in Vadodara, protesting against the substantial increase in the MBBS fees at the GMERS colleges across the State. During the protest 10 members of the association were arrested.

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

Gujarat Medical Education and Research SocietyGMERSGMERS Fee Hikefee hikembbs feesmbbsmedical colleges

Source : With agency inputs

Kajal Rajput

Kajal joined Medical Dialogue in 2019 for the Latest Health News. She has done her graduation from the University of Delhi. She mainly covers news about the Latest Healthcare. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.