Deemed medical colleges across India have announced significant increases in their postgraduate medical course fees. Several deemed-to-be medical institutes have hiked their annual fees by ₹2-5 lakh per annum for various MD and MS courses.
Among the institutes experiencing the highest increase are two colleges under the MGM group, located in Navi Mumbai and Aurangabad. These colleges have raised the fees for their various courses from last year’s Rs 30 lakh per annum to Rs 40 lakh. Additionally, the colleges have increased their fees for other branches by Rs 5 lakh. A course in MD Radio-diagnosis or dermatology at MGM Medical College in Navi Mumbai this year will cost ₹35 lakh per annum, a significant increase from last year’s fee of ₹25 lakh.
Fee Hike in Non-Deemed Medical Colleges and Private colleges
Several other private, non-deemed medical colleges have also increased their fees. KJ Somaiya College in Mumbai has set its MBBS fees at ₹12 lakh. Vedanta Institute of Medical Sciences in Palghar will charge the highest annual fee in the state for MBBS this year at ₹17.03 lakh. KashibaiNavale Medical College in Pune has not raised its fees this year, but the annual cost remains over ₹14 lakh. NKP Salve Institute in Nagpur has its fees at ₹13.08 lakh for 2024-25, while Prakash College in Sangli, which reduced its fees two years ago, has set its fee at ₹7.63 lakh for this year.
A seat in MD Radio-diagnosis at Pune’s Bhartiya Vidyapeeth would cost ₹36.75 lakh annually for the incoming class, up from ₹35 lakh the previous year. A few universities, such as D Y Patil Medical College in Navi Mumbai, have kept their tuition rates from the previous year, but an MD in orthopaedics will set you back ₹60 lakh annually, while an MS in general surgery will set you back ₹40 lakh annually. However, the Pune-based DY Patil Medical College has increased tuition for all of its programs by ₹1.5–2.5 lakh annually this year.
Yenepoya Medical College in Mangalore has also announced an increase of Rs 10 lakh from the original fee of Rs 40 lakh to Rs 50 lakh for its dermatology and radio diagnosis programs. Sri Ramchandra Medical College in Chennai and Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi have also experienced a fee increase of Rs 5 lakh. Currently, Sree Balaji Medical College stands as the most costly in the nation, with its dermatology and radio diagnosis programs now costing Rs 70 lakh, an increase from Rs 65 lakh in 2023.
Colleges faced fee fixation memorandum
Many colleges expressed dissatisfaction with this decision, leading some deemed medical institutes in Tamil Nadu to challenge a fee fixation memorandum in the Madras High Court. The court has directed the NMC to reassess the memorandum, taking into account the concerns raised by both deemed and private medical colleges regarding the financial strain caused by the requirement to charge lower fees for 50% of their students. Numerous medical colleges nationwide are now hoping the Supreme Court will grant a stay on the NMC fee memorandum.
“The reason government colleges can offer medical seats at lower fees is that the state covers all their expenses. Private and deemed colleges don’t have that option. If the government mandates that we charge government rates for 50% of our seats, we will face significant losses unless we increase fees for the remaining seats,” explained the dean of a private medical college in Nashik.
Parents demanding strict regulation of fees
Parents are calling for stricter regulation of fees, particularly in deemed colleges. “The government wants to impose fee regulations on 50% of seats in private and deemed institutes, while also pushing for regulation on the remaining 50%.
