Private colleges in Maharashtra have been granted permission by the State Government to charge up to five times the regular fees set by the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) for management quota seats in undergraduate and postgraduate programs in Ayurvedic, Homeopathy, and Unani Medicine.
Starting from the academic year 2024-2025, this revised fee structure is expected to increase costs for management and Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota seats at self-financed medical colleges by approximately 15%. Consequently, fees for management quota seats in BAMS, Homeopathy, and Unani courses could reach as high as ₹13.5 lakh, while the standard fees for general category seats will remain around ₹2.75 lakh. The fee revision follows a request from the association of private, unaided medical colleges in Maharashtra.
The government’s decision to increase fees has led to significant backlash from aspiring students, their parents, and student organizations, who argue that this hike will make many medical seats unaffordable. As reported by the Indian Express, one aspirant stated, “The fee structure for BAMS, Unani, and Homeopathy under the institution quota is going to skyrocket with this decision, putting these seats out of reach for middle-class students.”
High fees for BAMS, BHMS, and BUMS courses
Critics have raised concerns about the sustainability of such high fees for BAMS, BHMS, and BUMS courses, which are less popular than traditional MBBS programs. Education activists have noted that this year, the elevated fees for MBBS courses at private medical colleges led many students to consider BAMS and BHMS as alternatives.
Sudha Shenoy, a medical education activist, commented on the situation, highlighting complications with this year’s NEET UG results resulted in higher-than-usual cutoffs, impacting many aspiring medical students. “The government appears to be closing all doors for students, which is particularly unfavorable given the additional MBBS seats allocated by the National Medical Commission (NMC). This, combined with the fee hike, is causing further challenges for both medical aspirants and their parents.”
According to the college’s website, students admitted through the institutional quota currently pay ₹26,99,500 per year, while the regular fee is ₹2,81,500. For NRI students, the fee rises to ₹11,17,500. With the new rules in place, these fees are expected to increase further, said a parent seeking admission for their child to a medical college in Ahmednagar.
In an interview with HT, a State Government official acknowledged that the decision was not made appropriately, emphasizing the need to consider parents’ opinions before finalizing the fee hike, rather than taking a one-sided approach favoring management.
Dharmendra Mishra, a member of the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA), explained that the panel uses a specific formula to determine the fee structure for colleges. He noted, “If colleges charge three to five times the regular fees, they must report this as income in their financial statements, which many do not regularly adhere to. We’ve discovered that some colleges collect fees in cash without declaring it as income. To address this, the FRA will require colleges to disclose the amounts charged for management seats during the fee reconciliation process.”
