The National Medical Commission (NMC) reiterated its memorandum on the fee schedule in private and deemed colleges, issued earlier this year. The memorandum stated that the decision to bring the fees for 50% of seats in these colleges on par with government fees would be applicable for students admitted through NEET-UG and NEET-PG this year. The circular was issued with admissions for both PG and UG courses set to commence soon.

The NMC circular stated that all deemed universities are requested to comply with the office memorandum dated February 3, 2022. The decision means that the fees for 50% of private and deemed universities will come down to a little over Rs. 1 lakh. In Maharashtra, fees at unaided private colleges are regulated by the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) but deemed colleges do not come under its functional area.

A management representative from a private college stated that reducing the income of private and deemed colleges by 50% would be discouraging for management to operate in the long run or even provide world-class infrastructure. He added that either the colleges will shut down in five years, or the burden will fall on the remaining 50% of the students. He further stated that if the government intends to help the students, the most viable solution would be to add 50 supernumerary seats in all private and deemed colleges and offer them subsidized fees.