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Telangana HC has ordered private MBBS colleges in the state to collect fees for MBBS, as per the stipulated time period on an annual basis. The decision comes after an MBBS student filed a petition stating that the colleges charged a fee for 5 years instead of the stipulated 4½ years as per TAFRC.
With the Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Commission (TAFRC) planning to hike the MBBS fees for the block period of 2020-23, the Telangana High Court has ruled the course fees collected by private medical colleges as “illegal, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 under the Constitution of India”.
The decision comes after a petitioner pointed out the issue of private colleges asking a course fee for the duration of five years, instead of the specified duration by the Medical Council of India, which is 4½ years.
The High Court had questioned the State Govt.’s motivation their approval of the TAFRC’s recommendation for collecting the MBBS fees for a duration of 5 years. In 2016, the TAFRC had recommended a specified amount as fees for MBBS along with the outlined duration of 5 years. This recommendation was further approved by the state government in the same year.
Pointing out the actions taking by both the TAFRC and the state government, the High Court ruled the recommendation as illegal and arbitrary. The Telangana HC further directed the private medical colleges to collect the MBBS fees for the designated time period alone, while also warning them of stringent action in case of violations.
The Telangana HC has now ordered the private medical colleges to collect the fees annually, for the first four and a half years and subsequently for the next six months. Currently, there 32 medical colleges in Telangana, which includes 22 private medical colleges, offering almost 4,700 MBBS seats.
As per the regulations outlined by the Medical Council of India, the MBBS course is supposed to be held for a duration of 4½ years. As per the recommendations of the TAFRC, the medical colleges will be allowed to collect the MBBS fees for a duration of 5 years. This had been done to compensate for those students who fail to clear the course or lack the necessary attendance in the stipulated time period and require another 6 months to complete the course.
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During the hearing, Justices MS Ramachandra Roa and K Lakshman commented at TAFRC’s attempt to claim that the petitioner’s claim was based on the inability to be enrolled under one of the MBBS colleges in the state. The statement further added that it is the duty of the TAFRC “to protect the interests of the students and their parents and ensure that private unaided professional institutions and managements did not overcharge for admissions to the course”.
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The Telangana HC further observed that the state government assumed that all MBBS students would fail the programme and a need for the additional 6 months would be essential as well. The HC stated that all the students cannot be asked to pay for the course for 5 years, merely on the assumption that they would fail to clear the course within the stipulated time period.
