With Huge MBBS Fees, MBBS Aspirants In Punjab Unable To Join Course

Due to huge fees in the Government medical colleges of Punjab, MBBS aspirants from poor economic backgrounds cannot join the medical courses despite clearing the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

Although the State had earlier opened meritorious schools to help students from humble backgrounds get admitted to professional colleges, due to the exorbitant fees of Rs 8 lakh in the government medical colleges, the purpose of such schools has been defeated.

Therefore, with the semester fees more than the annual income of the families, the medical aspirants are left with no choice but to give up on their dreams of becoming doctors.

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In the recently announced revised fee structure by the Department of Medical Education and Research, the additional secretary Rahul Gupta notified about a 5% hike in the MBBS course fees for the 2022 session.

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As a result of the continuous hike, the fees for MBBS courses in the government medical colleges at Amritsar, Patiala, and Faridkot have now been increased to Rs 8.62 lakh for the full course. Back in 2020, this fee was Rs 7.82 lakh. Therefore, facing the burden of an Rs 81,000 hike, it has become more difficult for the poor students in Punjab to pursue their dreams of becoming a doctor.

The new notification shows that the MBBS full course fee in the management quota seats of private medical colleges is now Rs 52.60 lakh instead of Rs 47.70 lakh in 2020. In the case of the government quota seats, the MBBS fee has been increased from Rs 18.55 lakh in 2020 to Rs 20.45 lakh.

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The rule of an annual 5% hike in the MBBS course fees was implemented when the Congress government was in power in 2020. Back then, the State had increased the MBBS course fee in the government medical colleges by 78%. While previously, the students had to pay Rs 4.4 lakh, it was hiked to Rs 7.81 lakh for the academic session of 2019-2020. After implementing the 5% annual hike for five years for subsequent batches in all government and private health sciences educational institutes, the State decided to review the fees after five years.

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Due to the huge course fees, the children of daily wage and factory workers cannot pursue MBBS even though they have cleared the NEET examination. For instance, a student from the Meritorious School, Ferozepur, whose father is a laborer by profession, secured admission to GMC Amritsar. However, the fee for the first semester is Rs 82,000, which is higher than the family's annual income. While his father borrowed money for the first semester, he could not pay fees for the entire course.

The student's father told the daily, "This time, I somehow managed to pay the fee by borrowing money. I will not be able to pay the hostel and tuition fee for the rest of the MBBS course."

The situation is similar for another student belonging to Government Meritorious School, Bathinda. The student, who secured admission to GMC Patiala, said daily, "We have borrowed money from the village to pay the tuition fee. Now, I do not have money for the hostel fee. I have to buy books also."

While commenting on the matter, a teacher at a meritorious school in Bathinda opined that the Government should come up with a policy for meritorious school students and added, "Every year, several meritorious students, hailing from humble backgrounds, clear NEET. However, they struggle to pay the course fee in government colleges. The purpose of preparing students for competitive exams at excellent schools gets defeated if they cannot get admission even after getting good ranks."

"Every year, our students clear the entrance exam. Sadly, many of them cannot even pay the tuition fee," said a biology teacher from a Meritorious school in Bathinda.

Meanwhile, taking note of the situation, the State Minister of Education, Chetan Singh Jouranajra, has mentioned, "I will look into the matter and ensure no one faces financial hurdles."

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