No fee hike for medical courses this year in Karnataka

Private medical colleges have decided not to submit a proposal to the government for a fee hike for medical courses for 2026-27 due to inflation and other reasons.

The State government too has decided not to allow a fee hike for medical courses.

“Students and parents are facing problems due to price hikes and other reasons. We will not cause them further trouble by increasing the fee for medical courses. We have decided not to submit a request to the government for a fee hike for medical courses this year,” said M.R. Jayaram, president, Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation (KPCF).

In addition, this year, the Union government has ordered a re-examination of NEET 2026 due to a paper leak, which has resulted in anger across the country.

Of the medical seats available in private medical colleges in the State, 40% are filled under the government quota, 40% under the private quota, 15% under the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) quota, and 5% under the management quota.

For the year 2025-26, private medical college associations such as the Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation, Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges Association (KRLMPCA), and Association of Minority Professional Colleges in Karnataka (AMPCK) had submitted a request to the government to increase the fees for government and private quota seats by 10% to 15%. However, the government rejected the request,continuing with the same fee amount as 2024-25.

The government also did not allow a fee hike for management and NRI quota seats. However, private college associations, which did not agree to this, requested the government not to raise an objection to the increase. The government allowed the increase, but mandated that the fee could not exceed ₹45 lakh. As a result, last year, private medical colleges had increased the fees of management and NRI quota seats from a minimum of ₹1 lakh to a maximum of ₹6 lakh.

Speaking to The Hindu, Sharan Prakash Patil, Minister for Medical Education, said, “So far, no private medical college organisation has submitted a proposal to the government regarding a fee hike for medical courses. If a proposal is submitted, the request will be rejected. It has been decided to not increase the fees of medical courses, including government and private medical colleges, for the year 2026-27.”

He further stated that this year, it has been decided to reserve 15% of medical seats in government medical colleges as NRI quota seats. “A decision in this regard will be taken in the State Cabinet soon and implemented,” he added.