Among neighbouring states, MBBS fee highest in Punjab

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 3

At a time when private institutes are charging a heavy amount for medical courses, government colleges have also started to follow suit.

From just Rs13,000 annual fees in 2010 to Rs1.56 lakh today, Punjab’s government colleges have now got the tag of having the highest fees for the MBBS course among its neighbouring states.

After an 80 per cent hike in the MBBS course fees in government colleges, medical education seems to be no longer affordable for the poor.

The annual MBBS fees, surprisingly, is much lesser in government colleges of Haryana, wherein the charges range between Rs30,000 and Rs50,000. In PGI, Rohtak, the annual fee is just Rs38,600.

Similarly, in Rajasthan, the annual fee for MBBS course in government colleges is Rs33,500. In Himachal Pradesh, which has established four government colleges within two years, the annual MBBS fee is Rs60,000.

Notably, the fee for a full five-year course in government-run medical colleges in Punjab from this session will amount to Rs7.8 lakh from Rs4.4 lakh previously.

Raj Bahadur, Vice Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, said people were ready to pay in lakhs for admission in schools, so why couldn’t they pay for a course like MBBS? He said, “To provide good infrastructure and impart quality education, the government needs funds, and therefore, the fee has been hiked.”

Medical Education Minister OP Soni said, “There is not much hike in the MBBS fees. The cost of new equipment required for medical education has already increased, which compelled us to hike the fees.”

When asked about starting a new government medical college in Mohali, he said, “We are facing problems due to Covid. We are doing our best to start it from this year.”