In the face of criticism from the Opposition and in the face of anxieties expressed by parents and student organisations, the government has backtracked on its thinking to unify fee for all category of seats for the MBBS and BDS course in private self-financing dental colleges.
An understanding for unifying fee was arrived at during talks with representatives of dental college managements here recently. The government had earlier stated that it was open to the idea of a uniform fee for the MBBS course as well.
A statement on Tuesday quoted Health Minister K.K. Shylaja as saying that the agreement to unify fee for the BDS course had given rise to anxieties that the category of students who received fee subsidy in the previous years would stand to lose the same this year. Accordingly, the government is withdrawing from the agreement on fee unification for the BDS course.
The fee charged till last year for merit seats in the BDS course in the self-financing colleges would continue this year also.
Moreover the government stands firm on its position that it would carry out allotments from the NEET merit list, it added.