HYDERABAD: As many as 7,000 PG medical students are in trouble as private medical colleges continue to insist on a bank guarantee for 50 per cent of the fee. This, despite the high court directive to these colleges to accept only a personal bond for this.
Aspirants say the colleges are in contempt of court. PG aspirants and junior doctors’ associations feel all this should have been sorted out long before the admission procedure started, and that this is causing a lot of uncertainty around the admission procedure. This is keeping the students stressed.
PG Medical aspirants allege that the fee structure was announced two days before the counselling. The fee was hiked from Rs 3.2 lakh to Rs 6.9 lakh.
The government had stated that the students will get a stipend of Rs 30,000, which will compensate for the fee hike. Private colleges are taking the stipend fee and still resorting to this fee hike, the aspirants alleged.
Students said they were facing a lot of issues with regard to the admissions now. “This was also due to the lack of a clear order from the government to the colleges on stipends.”
Another major issue students are facing due the private colleges’ demand for a bank guarantee — for at least two years – is this: colleges are threatening to cancel the ongoing admissions if they don’t submit a bank guarantee along with the personal bond.
Dr Ram Kishan, a PG aspirant, said, “The court gave an order to pay 50 per cent of the fee now, and that the entire fees would be re-fixed later. This ambiguity has caused mental stress to so many of us. We can afford only Rs 3.45 lakh. There is no clarity whether the fee will remain so or double after a month. We are facing a lot of issues with the admissions now.” He added, “Private colleges are asking for a bank guarantee for 2 years’ fee, which is almost Rs 14 lakh, within an unreasonable time frame of 5-7 days. Now, the colleges are threatening us to cancel the admissions if they don’t submit a bank guarantee. Banks can give that guarantee to us only if we make a fixed deposit. So, a PG merit student has to cough up Rs 6.9 lakh in first year along with miscellaneous charges up to Rs 75,000 and a stipend fee for three months, along with hostel fee. So, apart from all these things, we need to have Rs 14 lakh more in hand to make a fixed deposit so as to get a bank guarantee in 7 days.’’
Dr. Kaushik Shivaji, a medical aspirant, said, “This time, NEET PG test is being held for the first time, and there is a common counselling for management seats and NRI seats. The central government has done well to change the system, but decisions were delayed. The latest is of the cut-off for NEET PG to bring down the eligibility norm for admissions. This was done to help non-meritorious students get admitted into management seats.”
G Srinivas, general secretary of the junior doctors’ association said, “The students should have a total of three years’ fee in hand to get an admission in a private college along with Rs 1.5 lakh for miscellaneous charges, hostel fee, and caution deposit and stipend fees. So, indirectly they need almost Rs 23 lakh at the outset. Bank loans are given only after they show the admission letter. Admission letters are given only after students pay this amount. So, it’s a big loop.” “We approached the court yesterday regarding this bank guarantee and the HC has issued notice to the private college managements asking as to why they are insisting on a bank guarantee despite its order to the contrary. The next hearing of the case will be on June 5.’’
Private colleges say they are following court directions. L. Narsimha Rao, president of the private medical colleges association, said, “Things have become complicated for students, parents and even for us, we just want this to end. We hope everything is standardised and we get some clarity regarding the admissions. We are doing what the court has directed to us to do. It had asked us to collect 50 per cent of the hiked fee and a personal bond, but the court didn’t say we should not collect a bank guarantee.”
