PG admissions: Private medical colleges in Maha seek 2 days to sort mess

More than a month ago, FRA issued a notice to all private medical and dental institutes in the state asking them to stick to common fees for all their seats

Admissions to postgraduate courses in private medical and dental institutes seems to be stuck in limbo. After receiving an ultimatum from Directorate of Medical and Research (DMER) to either participate in Common Admission Process (CAP) or keep their seats vacant this academic year, private medical institutes in Maharashtra have sought two days to clear the mess.

But two weeks ago, private institutes sought permission for all their quota seats, which constitutes 50% of the total seats (50% is merit seats), to charge five times the regular fees. (Pic for representation)

“Institutes have forwarded us their concerns, but their demand is not something that can be agreed upon easily. The Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) and the state medical education department are looking into it and we hope to have some clarity by the next week,” said Sanjay Deshmukh, state medical education secretary. He added heads of institutes will meet the medical education minister on Monday.

More than a month ago, FRA issued a notice to all private medical and dental institutes in the state asking them to stick to common fees for all their seats, including those under management and NRI quotas. However, the institutes threatened to boycott the admission season if they were not allowed to charge three times and five times the regular fees for management and NRI quotas. After a series of meetings, the FRA decided to allow private institutes to charge three and five times the regular fees for both the quotas for 2018-19 academic year.

But two weeks ago, these institutes sought permission for all their quota seats, which constitutes 50% of the total seats (50% is merit seats), to charge five times the regular fees.

“By controlling our fee structure, the authorities are compromising the quality of education imparted at our institutes. There is no point in running such institutes. So we requested to be exempted from the admissions session this year,” said a spokesperson from one of the private medical institutes.