Cost of an MBBS degree in India may come down by 70%; here’s how

With the birth of the National Medical Commission (NMC), several reforms with respect to medical education in India are expected. One of the most talked-about issues in this regard is the discrepancy in the fee structure of government and private medical colleges in India.

The fee for a Bachelor in Medicine, Bachelor in Surgery (MBBS) degree course in India starts from Rs 6,000 and can go up to Rs 25 lakh. The course fee for a three-year postgraduate degree course ranges between Rs 1-3 crore.

The huge gap between the fee structure of government and private colleges is a result of the absence of regulatory provisions in the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956. The only way to regulate fees in private colleges under the IMC Act was to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with college management.

But such regulations have been incorporated into the NMC Act, thus opening doors to new possibilities. The Board of Governors (BoG) have been given the responsibility to prepare the guidelines for regulating the fee structure. These guidelines will be applicable to both private and deemed universities. With the implementation of these guidelines, the fee for undergraduate medical courses is expected to go down by 70 per cent and that of the postgraduate courses by 90 per cent. As a result, the course fee for MBBS may come down to Rs 6-10 lakh.

According to sources, the BoG has sought suggestions from the competent authorities of various states. However, only 75 per cent of the seats will have a regulated fee structure. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan informed that the state governments would still have the liberty to decide the fees for the remaining 25 per cent of the seats. As an interim measure, the Supreme Court has appointed a committee of retired high court judges to fix the fees of private colleges.

Read More:

• NEET application form 2020 released at ntaneet.in, click here to apply
• NEET 2020 information brochure released: Know what documents are required to fill application form here
• NEET registrations to begin December 2; know what’s new here
• Will NEET be conducted twice a year? Know more about NEET here
• Government scraps AIIMS and JIPMER exams; NEET 2020 the only entrance for MBBS admissions