Thiruvananthapuram: As the government has called the managements of the private medical colleges in the state for a discussion on Monday on the fee structure for MBBS course for this academic year, the Kerala Self-Finance Medical College Management Association has made clear that it would seek an annual fee of Rs 12 lakh for general seats and Rs 30 lakh for the 15 per cent seats in NRI quota in the MBBS course. If the government agreed to this agreement, the association would earmark 10 per cent free seats to economically backward students.
Kerala Christian Professional College Managements’ Federation has also advanced a similar demand for hike in fee.
The discussions come amid fears that the government’s directive to the commissioner of entrance examinations (CEE) to go ahead with the admission process with the last year’s fee as a provisional fee may run into legal trouble as the fee structure had been struck down by the court.
Moreover, two associations of the self-financing medical colleges have made it clear that they will not cooperate with the admission.
The activities related to the second phase allotment to engineering, architecture and pharmacy courses and the first-phase to MBBS, BDS, agriculture, veterinary, forestry and fisheries courses are open on the website www.cee.kerala.gov.in
But the CEE's notification says the fee is provisional and is subject to the final decision of the government and admission regulatory committee or a consensual agreement between self-financing colleges and the government.
The candidates getting allotment are liable to remit the fee fixed by the Fee Regulatory Committee if the court or any competent authority rejects the agreement between the government and these institutions.
Colleges and courses will be subject to recognition of national regulatory bodies, affiliation from universities and government orders.
The activities related to the third phase of allotment to engineering and architecture courses will be notified later. The third allotment is the last phase to private self-financing engineering and architecture colleges.
After fee structure agreed in the previous year was scrapped by the court, fee regulatory committee headed by Justice Rajendra Babu has not issued an order for a new fee structure.
The court had held that orders of the committee fixing fee between 2016-17 and 2018-19 were invalid as all its members were not present at the sittings. No quorum was prescribed for its meetings.
It was after this court order that the government went for the amendment. The Assembly had recently passed the Kerala Medical Education (Regulation and Control of Admission to the Private Medical Education Institutions) Amendment Bill which was made into an Act after Governor P. Sathasivam ratified it.
With the amendment, members on the panel chaired by Justice Rajendra Babu came down to five from 10.
The allotment to ayurveda, homoeo, sidha and unani courses will be in the next phase. Online option confirmation is mandatory for engineering, architecture and pharmacy courses.
The candidates who want their higher order options in engineering, architecture and pharmacy courses considered in the second phase of allotment will have to log onto their home page and confirm options.
