Kerala: Fees of Self-Financing Medical Colleges Likely to Raise

Self-financing Medical college managements has revealed that this academic year the Medical admission fees are likely to raise.

The representatives of self-financing medical college managements have reached an agreement with the State Government to hike the fees under various categories in institutions run by them.

As per the agreement, the fees for merit seats have been hiked from Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 1.65 lakh. The fees in management quota category have been increased from Rs. 6.5 lakh to Rs. 7 lakh. The fees for NRI students have been increased to Rs.10.5 lakh from Rs.9.50 lakh.

However, the fees for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) category of students remain unchanged at 25,000.

The Kerala Private Medical College Management Association (KPMCMA), representing eight self- financing medical colleges, however, said that a formal agreement would be inked with the government only after it was allowed to conduct entrance examinations on its own for admission to 35 per cent management quota seats.

They said they were ready to conduct an entrance exam on May 31. KPMCMA president Fasal Gafoor told "Students who apply for payment seats in our institutions might not have the same calibre of students taking Kerala entrance or NEET entrance exam. Hence we need to conduct entrance exams of our own."

Health Minister V S Sivakumar told the management representatives that this demand would be considered only after the detailed examination of a recent Supreme Court interim order on the issue.

The Supreme Court had on Monday paved way for government and private medical colleges to admit students to under-graduate and post-graduate medical and dental courses for the 2013 session by lifting curbs on the declaration of entrance test results for the courses.

Sivakumar said "The Supreme Court interim order needs to be examined in detail. Only then can the government agree to the self-financing colleges' demand to conduct entrance exams on their own."

Four medical colleges under the Inter-Church Council had earlier decided to go ahead with admissions to all their seats from the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) conducted by the CBSE. They had also set a uniform fees of Rs.4 lakh for 85 management seats in their institutions.