Private Medical College Fees to Rise by 10% This Academic Year

The fees for undergraduate medical courses at private colleges will see a 10% increase for the current academic year.

This decision was reached during a meeting between government officials and representatives of private medical colleges, where an agreement was signed on Saturday. As per the new agreement, the fee for government quota seats in private medical colleges will now be Rs 1,40,621, while the fee for private seats in these colleges will be Rs 11,88,167.

Although representatives from private medical colleges initially pushed for a fee increase of 15% to 20%, the government settled on a 10% hike. Last academic year, 2023-24, the government had only approved a 10% fee increase for minority medical colleges, rejecting similar demands from other institutions.

Meanwhile, the fee structure for government medical colleges remains unchanged at Rs 50,000 per year. Prior to this year’s 10% increase, government quota seats at private colleges were priced at Rs 1,28,746, and private seats at Rs 9,94,906.

According to sources from the department, Minister for Medical Education Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil was initially opposed to raising fees but eventually agreed after college managements cited rising maintenance costs, staff salary increases, and other financial pressures.

No decision has yet been made regarding seat-sharing arrangements, as private medical colleges have filed an appeal in the high court against a recent judgment requiring them to allocate NRI seats to the government. “We’ll be able to decide on the NRI seats only after the court’s ruling,” said a representative from a private medical college management team.