Colleges Told Not To Charge MBBS Internship Fee

Hyderabad: Private medical colleges have been told they cannot collect tuition fees for the one‑year MBBS internship, after complaints over fee demands beyond the prescribed academic period. The clarification from the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) came after a series of directions on MBBS fee collection.

In April this year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) directed medical colleges to charge tuition only for the four-and-a-half‑year academic period, excluding the compulsory internship. Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) subsequently directed colleges to collect the prescribed MBBS fee for the period in five instalments. The latest clarification from the TAFRC confirmed this position for students covered by the 2021–23 block period.

TAFRC said it had received representations from students and parents alleging that some colleges were demanding fees for the entire five‑year period. The complaints also included allegations of students being denied classes, examination hall tickets, biometric attendance and campus entry over fee disputes. The committee said the prescribed MBBS fee covered nine academic semesters spread over four-and-a-half years. The internship did not involve academic teaching and therefore could not be treated as a fee‑paying fifth year.

For the 2021–23 block period, the fee is to be collected in five instalments. Where the annual prescribed fee is Rs 14.5 lakh, for instance, the fee for the four-and-a-half year academic course is Rs 65.25 lakh, with Rs 14.5 lakh payable for each of the first four years and Rs 7.25 lakh for the final semester.

If a college collected less during the first four years, it could recover the balance with the final‑semester payment, provided the total remains within the prescribed fee. Any amount collected towards the fifth year beyond that limit would have to be refunded, the TAFRC said.

The committee has also received complaints over stipend payments. Students alleged that some colleges collected amounts towards stipends without disbursing them, while others allegedly recovered stipends after paying them. TAFRC called these practices a “serious concern” and said stringent action would follow if the allegations were established. TAFRC warned private medical colleges to follow the prescribed fee structure and said violations would invite action under applicable rules.