Medical and dental studies may become more expensive as private colleges are demanding a hike in the fees. That said, the government is expected to take a final call on this matter next week.
Karnataka Professional Colleges Foundation chairman M.R. Jayaram said private medical colleges were hoping for a 10% increase in fees for the 2017–18 academic year. “All our expenditure has increased, and if the government does not increase the fees, it would be difficult to run the colleges,” he said.
Karnataka Religious and Linguistic Minority Professional Colleges’ Association secretary Shafi Ahmed said their colleges had sought a fee hike of 25%. “The government, however, is trying to persuade us to sign the consensual agreement without any fee hike,” he said.
According to Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash R. Patil, the State government will hold a meeting next week with different private medical and dental college associations before taking a decision.
Sources in the Medical Education Department said that while the college managements were adamant on the fee hike, the State government does not want to relent as the Legislative Assembly elections are due next year.
Consensual agreement
“We want the consensual agreement to continue and want to ensure that the old system of subsidised government-quota seats and expensive private college seats continue. So, we will need to discuss this in depth,” sources said.
While the State government has made it clear that common counselling for seats in government medical and dental colleges and government-quota seats and non-government seats in private colleges would continue, the associations said they were awaiting the outcome of a case in the Supreme Court to discuss on the final modalities.
The government has declined the request of engineering college managements to hike fees for 2017–18.
