Plea to fix fees by private medical colleges

The Pondicherry State Students’ and Parents’ Welfare Association has urged the Lt. Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan to direct the Higher Education Fee Fixation Committee to fix fees of private medical colleges as directed by the Supreme Court.

In a memorandum, the Association president V. Balasubramanian urged the Lt. Governor to ensure that the committee fixes all components of fees of private medical colleges, such as admission fee, hostel fee, transport fee, etc; and that any other fee can be collected only with the concurrence of the committee.

The Association also wanted interim steps taken for reporting excess fees charged by any institution pending the creation of a web portal as directed by the Apex Court. The Supreme Court order had explicitly prohibited private medical colleges from accepting fees in cash in order to avoid capitation fee, any instance of which could be flagged on the proposed web portal to be maintained by the National Informatics Centre.