Centre To Regulate Medical College Fees From Next Year

New Delhi: The Centre has said it will regulate course fees in medical colleges from the 2020-21 academic session.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said fee regulation is one of the key provisions of the soon to be set up National Medical Commission.

In August, Parliament had passed the National Medical Commission Bill to develop and regulate all aspects of medical education, profession and institutions in the country.

As the first step in this direction, the minister said a single entrance test will be held for all medical admissions in the country from 2020. This means that admissions to AIIMS and JIPMER will also be done through NEET.

The next move will be to regulate course fees in medical institutes, the minister added.

The Medical Council of India had no power to regulate fees. But with the formation of the new commission, it will have the power to determine fees in 50 per cent of private medical college seats. Most states currently have committees that fix the fees.

Critics, however, have argued that this clause will further unregulate the fee structure rather than regulate tuition fees.