Parliamentary Panel calls for Cheaper Private Medical Education, Capitation Fees reform
Private Medical College Fees
New Delhi: To make medical education more affordable and accessible to candidates who have merit but lack financial strength, a Parliamentary health committee has recommended in its report to make private medical education cheaper and regulate capitation fees in medical colleges.
In its one hundred sixty third report on demands for grants 2025-2026 of the Health Department, the Department-reated Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare has recommended, "Private medical education should be made cheaper and the Capitation fees needs to be regulated to make the medical education more affordable and accessible to merit candidates with poor financial background."
Medical Dialogues has been reporting on the rising cost of medical education, especially at private medical colleges. Navi-Mumbai-based D Y Patil Medical College offers one of the costliest MBBS programs across the country. Back in 2023, the annual fees for the MBBS course at the medical college was Rs 30.5 lakh. Therefore, the total course fees, including the hostel charges for the students, could go up to Rs 1.35 crore.
Despite Government directives over the years, the medical colleges often collect huge amounts from medical students in the name of capitation fee. This was observed by the Supreme Court as well in a previous judgment. While considering the pleas challenging the Fee Panel's orders, the Supreme Court back then had expressed concern over the hard realities of the commercialisation of education and evil practices being adopted by many institutes to earn large amounts.
Strictly prohibiting the medical institutes from accepting payment of fees in cash to avoid charging capitation fee, the Apex Court had back then issued stringent directions to restrain the practice of medical colleges charging capitation fees from students.
Also Read: Supreme Court orders 7 point Formula to End Capitation Fee at Medical Colleges
Unable to afford the huge cost of medical education at the private medical colleges across India, often the medical aspirants prefer going abroad to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors.
Last year, considering the problems faced by medical aspirants due to the huge cost of medical education in private medical colleges in India, a Parliamentary Committee on Health had recommended multiple measures to the Government to deal with the issue.
The panel had opined that running medical colleges and hospitals on a PPP model and giving tax benefits to the company/group could also help make medical education more affordable.
Apart from these, the panel, chaired by Shri Bhubaneswar Kalita had recommended the Ministry to formulate a comprehensive framework to address the bureaucratic hurdles and effectively implement the partnership of the private medical colleges with the district hospitals.
It had also advised the Government to subsidize the necessary equipment/machines to set up skill labs in private medical colleges and prescribing minimum marks in the NEET-UG exam for each category of students seeking admission.
Advising the Union Ministry to consider need-based scholarships to deserving students, the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare had opined in its One Hundred Fifty-Seventh report, "These scholarships could be funded through government and private sector contributions, creating an accessible path to medical education for all."
While discussing the issue of the affordability of medical education, the panel noted that the average MBBS fees across the Government medical colleges in India could reach Rs 50,000 per annum. However, only a select few, who perform exceedingly well in the NEET exam could avail such subsidized medical education.
To solve the issue students face regarding the affordability of medical education, the panel last year had recommended several measures including giving need-based scholarships to deserving students, running medical colleges and hospitals on the PPP model, giving tax benefits to company/group etc.
NMC Fee Order:
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that back in 2022, the National Medical Commission issued a direction to all the private medical colleges in the country to charge fees at par with the government institutes for 50 per cent of the total seats.
The validity of the NMC order has time and again been challenged before various High Courts and also Supreme Court, where AHSI challenged the order arguing that the top court in various judgments had reiterated the fact that the method for fixing the fees, would be subject to considering various guidelines such as facilities available in the college, infrastructure, age of investment made, plans for expansion, etc. Currently, the validity of the NMC fee order is being considered by the Supreme Court.
