Kerala Private Medical Colleges Advance Fee matter: Parents of MBBS Students Seek CM's Intervention
Palakkad: Upset with the management of the Private Medical Colleges in Kerala seeking advance fees for the next academic year, the parents of MBBS students have started seeking the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's intervention regarding the issue. They are angry at the situation where fees are being demanded even though the classes and exams have been postponed amidst the pandemic.
Except for four private medical colleges, run by Christian managements, rest of the colleges are insisting so that the students pay the fees for the next academic year by this month. In fact, some of the college managements have clarified that in case of a missed deadline for the payment of fees, a 1% fine would be charged.
The Private medical college managements in the State, on the other hand, have clarified that they were maintaining the fee schedule and any change in the timeline would mess up with the whole system.
Medical Dialogues had recently reported that annoyed with the private medical colleges seeking advance fees from the students, the parents of the MBBS students were planning to take legal recourse. They had already approached the State Government and the Fee Regulatory Committee with their concerns.
The State Government, however, mentioned its inability to do anything as they had limitations for interfering into the fee-related matters concerning the private medical colleges.
As per the recent notices issued by these private medical institutes, the students 2017-18 batch would now have to pay the fees for the fifth year, 2018-19 batch would have to pay the fees for the fourth year, and the 2019-2020 batch would have to pay fees for the third year. It should be noted in this context, that the third-year online classes of the 2018-19 batch haven't even been started yet and their second-year examinations are still pending.
While commenting on the situation, Anil K.S., general secretary of the Parents Coordination of Medical Students (PCOMS) told The Hindu, "This is blatant injustice. The private medical colleges are proving yet again that they are unconscionably money-minded even when the whole world is tottering under the pandemic. How can one justify asking for the third year's fee when the first year's classes are not over yet?"
Meanwhile, speaking to the daily, a parent of 2019 batch student, who have already paid fees for two years although the first year's exam is not concluded yet, mentioned, "These students are asked to pay the third year's fees by this month."
The daily adds that even though the classes for the 2020 batch have started in February this year, they have been asked to pay the second year's fees. However, the four colleges run by Christian management have reportedly assured its students that they would be required to pay the fees only after completing the current academic year.
