Doctors’ body seeks reduction in Category-A PG medical fees in Telangana

The Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association (HRDA) has urged the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) to reduce the tuition fee for postgraduate MD/MS courses under Category-A, or Competent Authority/ Convenor quota, in private medical colleges for the 2023-2026 block period.

In a representation submitted to the TAFRC chairman on Monday, HRDA president Karthik Nagula said Category-A postgraduate seats were allotted through the Competent Authority quota based on NEET-PG merit and, therefore, the fee for these seats should remain reasonable and affordable, particularly for students from middle-class and lower middle-class families.

The association cited an NMC office memorandum dated February 3, 2022, which states that the fee for 50% of seats in private medical colleges and deemed universities should be at par with the fee charged in government medical colleges of the respective State or Union Territory. The memorandum also provides that the benefit should first be extended to candidates admitted through the government quota and, where government quota seats constitute less than 50% of the sanctioned strength, to other candidates based on merit. 

The association also compared the postgraduate fee issue with the existing undergraduate fee structure. It pointed out that the Category-A MBBS tuition fee is ₹60,000 a year while the Category-B fee in private medical colleges is approximately ₹11.55 lakh to ₹13 lakh a year. “The difference demonstrates that a lower fee could be maintained for merit-based Competent Authority seats while retaining a differential fee for other categories,” they said.

Citing NMC guidelines, the association said fee fixation should take into account actual operating costs, audited financial accounts and relevant expenditure, while adhering to the principle that medical education should be conducted on a not-for-profit basis.