Roll back fee hike and bond system for MBBS students, IMA tells Haryana

NEW DELHI: Calling a move by the Haryana government to increase the annual fee for MBBS students to Rs 10 lakh in government medical colleges “unfair” and “exploitative”, the student wing of the Indian Medical Association has asked for immediate withdrawal of the order. As of now, government-run medical colleges have a fee structure of Rs 53,000 per annum, while private colleges charge Rs 12 lakh per annum in the state.

With the new policy unveiled, students seeking admission in MBBS courses will have to pay `40 lakh for the entire four-year MBBS course in government colleges. In addition, the state government has also introduced the system of 7- year bond linked to a loan affidavit system amounting to `40 lakh for MBBS students.

“The monetary imposition of fees in lakhs at government institution will be ruining future of thousands of aspirants,” said Medical Students’ Network of the IMA. It added that the revision in the fee structure and the bond system will make medical education a challenge to the majority of aspirants annulling the premise of right of education for all.

“Middle- and lower-class people have suffered even more during this pandemic, therefore the Haryana government should consider their situation too,” the association said. What ails the government health services is non-investment, non-recruitment and lack of governance, it said.

“Hiring doctors on an ad hoc basis on contract for a few months is no longer acceptable. Well-run health services in other states have populated the newly created posts with MBBS doctors with resultant benefits,” it added. The IMA-MSN said that Haryana also can follow such proactive measures without resorting to such ‘deviant’ measures depriving the opportunities of the downtrodden.

(THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS)

1247 Days ago