PG admissions in private medical colleges: Citing fee issue, colleges denying admission, say parents

PARENTS OF candidates allotted seats for post-graduate courses in private medical colleges have alleged that the colleges had refused to admit students. Last week the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) announced the first list of 400 aspirants who were allotted seats for PG admissions. However, aspirants and their parents said when they approached the private medical colleges, they were denied admission. “We were told that the college will not admit students until their fee issue is resolved. The college refused to admit students until then,” said Muzaffar Khan, whose son has been allotted a seat in a college in Latur.

Another aspirant from Thane, who was allotted a seat in a college in Nashik, said that candidates stand to lose their chance at admission if the issue continued.

“The last date for confirming or locking the seat is April 12. Failing this, the candidate will be out of the admission process, even those who want to upgrade their colleges later,” he said. Karande said that applicants had chosen their colleges based on the fee finalised by the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) before the admission process started. Any changes in the fee structure will also have an impact on the candidate’s financial situation, he said.

The situation arose after the FRA mandated private medical colleges to limit their fees for NRI and management quota seats. The regulatory body asked colleges to keep their NRI fee within five times the fee charged from merit quota students and their management quota fees within three times the merit quota fees.

Kamal Kishor Kadam, president of the Unaided Medical College Association, said, “We are requesting the government to let us design our fee structure in such a way that we are able to bear the cost of medical education as well as the cost for complying with the norms set by the Medical Council of India.”

“It has become a question of survival for private medical colleges, which run without any aid from the government. What we are demanding is that whatever financial aid government medical colleges get, we be allowed to get the same amount through fees. Otherwise we will not be able to provide quality education,” said Kadam.

Meanwhile, DMER director Pravin Shinghare remained firm that the fee would not be restructured unless the FRA directed to do so.

“If the colleges refuse to admit students, those seats will be cancelled. Students will be allotted other seats,” said Shinghare. This means the total number of seats available for PG aspirants will go down by 400.
News Source (Indian Express)