Navi Mumbai: Medical College Under Fire For Charging Huge Deposit Money

Mumbai: Days after the state’s fee regulator fixed an upper limit on the refundable deposit and caution money charged by medical colleges, a private institution in Navi Mumbai continues to charge a higher amount under this head.

Candidates who got allotted seats at Terna Medical College, Nerul (Navi Mumbai), complained that the college has refused to reduce the Rs1.7 lakh it charges as hostel deposit and caution money, despite the FRA capping the total refundable amount charged for the course at Rs50,000. The students were also baffled when they were told that they will have to compulsorily enrol at the institute’s hostel, even though they lived nearby and were willing to commute from home.

The college is also allegedly creating hurdles for female students to avail the state’s newly introduced fee waiver scheme for women pursuing professional courses. They are being asked to sign an undertaking saying that they would have to pay their entire fees unless the college receives the reimbursement for fee waiver from the government by December, claimed students.

The allegations follow the recent decision by the state Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) to put a ceiling limit on deposit money amount for all health science programmes under any name. The authority, in a directive issued recently, also prohibited them from demanding this amount at the time of admission.

However, in a complaint to the FRA, a student who got seat at the college said that the institute hasn’t revised its fee structure, which includes several ‘exorbitant’ heads such as Journals and Aprons, Gymkhana Fee and Insurance, besides the tuition and development fees approved by the regulator.

“In addition to these illegal charges, the college administration is also forcing students to join the hostel and mess, even if they live right next to the college building. This requirement is both unnecessary and burdensome, with the total cost amounting to Rs3,50,000. This mandatory imposition further adds to the financial burden on students and their families,” reads the grievance.

Defending the fee structure, Dr Sunil Petkar, dean of Terna Medical College, said that private colleges are mulling over a challenge to the FRA’s directive. “The deposit amount is only for first-year students, and is under consideration of appeal to ARA [Admission Regulating Authority] by the managements of Association of Unaided Institutions,” he said.