CM Bommai moots reducing fee for medical courses

The statement comes on a day as the mortal remains of 21-year-old Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar arrived in Bengaluru, three weeks after he was killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Aiming to reduce the fee for medical courses, the government is considering a proposal to categorise the seats. The development was shared by chief minister (CM) Basavaraj Bommai on Monday.

Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai that the National Medical Council deliberates and decides on the issues pertaining to the courses and is looking into the matter. (PTI)

“Though the government fee is low, medical education in the private sector is expensive. Even students who score 90-95% are not getting seats in NEET (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test). As the cost of seats in management quota and NRI quota is high, the students look for other options. We are considering a proposal to divide the seats into A, B and C categories to reduce the fee,” Bommai said.

He said that the National Medical Council (NMC) deliberates and decides on the issues pertaining to the courses and is looking into the matter.

The statement comes on a day as the mortal remains of 21-year-old Naveen Shekarappa Gyanagoudar arrived in Bengaluru, three weeks after he was killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

In another development, minister for health, family welfare and medical education Dr K Sudhakar said the state will facilitate continuation of education for all 700 students who have returned from Ukraine.

“The government will facilitate continuation of education of the 700 returnee students in the 60 medical colleges across the state,” Sudhakar said after meeting the students at Vidhana Soudha on Monday.

The minister, however, clarified that students will not be officially absorbed into the colleges but aimed at continuation of the education till the state government finds a solution. “No additional fee will be charged from the students,” he said.

Sudhakar said that a high-level committee has been formed consisting of principal secretary of medical education department, director of medical education, Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) vice-chancellor, registrar, directors and deans of some medical colleges.

“The committee will look into all aspects considering the academic future of the students and submit a report to the state. Based on the report, the state will request NMC and the Centre to take necessary measures to protect the future of the students,” Sudhakar said.

“We are all hopeful and praying that the war will come to an end soon. We have to see what developments will take place in the future in Ukraine and take appropriate decisions based on the situation. We will also need to consider the mindset of students and take (the) best possible decision within the existing legal and regulatory framework,”he added.

Bommai said, “The Union government is seriously considering alternative measures for medical students, who have returned from war-torn Ukraine before completing their course. The course in Ukraine is different from India. The Centre is thinking about the issue as it involves the future of students from several states.”

At the time of his death, Shekarappa Gyanagoudar, Naveen’s father had said that families like his were unable to pay ₹1.5-2 crore for medical seats that are largely owned by politicians or linked to them.

“Intelligent students are going abroad to study. (If) they plan to get their education here, they have to pay crores for the seat. The same education or better, they are getting abroad. Here in India, the cost of medical education is very high. My son got 97% in PUC (pre-university) exam,” his father had shared with reporters in Haveri on March 1.

Naveen was a fourth-year medical student in Ukraine, which the family said cost around ₹30 lakh and was far more affordable than pursuing a medical course here.

According to RGUHS, there were over 9,800 medical seats in Karnataka in 2021-22, of which 3,050 were in state-run institutions and 2,200 in deemed universities. There are over 60 medical institutions in Karnataka.