Many private medical colleges in Karnataka are asking their first year MBBS students to pay their second year fees immediately. Students have also being warned that they won’t be able to write the examination if they fail to pay the fees.
Medical colleges are stepping up pressure on students as there has been a significant delay in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) counselling and admissions for the 2021-22 academic year have not yet started. Many medical college managements say, due to the delay, they have not had any source of income and are finding it difficult to pay the salaries of their staff.
One student studying in a reputed private medical college in the city said that the examinations were scheduled in mid-January. “Even before we appear for the first year examination, they are asking us to pay the second year fees in advance. Many of us cannot make immediate arrangements for it, but colleges are telling us that they will not issue the admission tickets and we will not be able to appear for the year-end examination,” the student said.
Another student of a medical college in the city said that following the directions of the colleges, many students had already paid the fees. “The college has signed an undertaking that if we do not pass the first year, the fee will be returned,” she said.
‘Fees only after exams’
When contacted, Jayakara S.M., Vice Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, said that the private college managements can collect second year fees only after the first year examination is conducted and the students get their results.
“Only after students clear the examination, colleges will know which students have been promoted and can move to the next year,” he said. He said that students can approach the university if colleges deny them admission tickets.