UP: KM Medical College MBBS students oppose fee hike

According to one of the MBBS students, the college authority announced the fee Hike for MBBS course on July 14 and the students got the information about the increased fee structure on their WhatsApp group. One of the first-year students told Indiatvnews that they have tried to have a conversation with the college authority regarding the matter. He also added that "We have two official Whatsapp group--one, that comprises of students and College Administration and another group that has parents and college staff. On July 20, one of the admission in-charge informed on the groups about the fee hike and changed the settings to 'only admin can message'. We tried to talk to them to cancel this fee hike and they continuously said that we will have to pay."

The students informed indiatvnews that Rs.8.5 lakhs is charged as tuition fee, Rs.1 lakhs as enrollment fee (only in first-year), Rs.1.5 lakhs for hostels with fan, Rs.2.5 lakhs for a hostel with cooler, Rs.3.5 lakhs for hostels with AC, Rs.1.65 lakh as mess fee (lunch on Sundays not provided), Rs.3 lakh as security fee (one-time during admission) and Rs.61,750 as registration fee by the college administration every year.

The students told the college authority that they want to discuss the recent fee hike as they find it problematic to pay an increased fee amidst pandemic. However, the authority has instructed the aggravated parents of the medicos to visit the campus for discussing their concerns. Many of the concerned parents have already mailed the medical college authorities expressing their inability of paying the fee.

However, the students told the daily that instead of paying attention to their grievances the authorities have enquired about the name of the students. One of the emails sent by the parent of one of the college students addressed to the college administration claims that the matter regarding the fee hike is yet to be decided by the high court and no judgment has been given so far. Another medico of the college claimed "During my admission last year, the college informed us that we have a fee-hike case in court and if we win then you will have to pay the new fees. The UP govt has asked all colleges to fix hostel fees at Rs.1.5 lakhs"

The students and their parents also urged the authorities to hold a conference online between the college management and the parents considering the pandemic situation. The MBBS medicos demanded that the college authority should arrange the virtual conference before applying the fee hike instead of asking the parents to visit the college in person which will be difficult due to the COVID scenario.

Expressing the inability in paying the increased amount considering the pandemic, a parent of a first-year medico informed a media person "Most of us are struggling financially due to the pandemic. We want that the college should not implement this fee-hike and there should be at least 50 percent concession on hostel feels and complete relaxation on mess charges as the students are at homes since March. We can't pay this much fees right now," a parent of a first-year student said. Many of the medicos have already taken the help of social media platforms to address the issue.

The National President of All India Medical Students' Association(AIMSA) has also tweeted addressing the issue of the increase in the fee structure.