Kerala HC directs private medical colleges not to charge fees in advance
Kerala High Court has restrained the self-financing medical colleges in the state from charging fees in advance for the next year.
There were reports coming in that the private medical colleges in Kerala are demanding fees for next year in advance as the institutes were facing financial problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, the latest is, Kerala High Court has restrained these colleges from charging fees in advance.
Kerala High Court has said, "Collecting annual fees from students for the next year in advance when the previous year's studies have not been completed by an institution would amount to "profiteering", as reported by NDTV.
The High Court has also made it clear that its directions were to operate only in the unusual situation caused due to the ongoing pandemic when instructions being imparted for a particular year in medical colleges could not be completed in the specified time due to virus outbreak.
A bench of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias C P said, "The COVID pandemic, without doubt, brought about an unusual or exceptional situation fraught with financial implications. The exceptional situation, however, affected not only the educational institutions but also the student community and their financier guardians. We feel it would be unconscionable on the part of the private medical educational institutions concerned to demand the determined fees, unmindful of the difficulties faced by the students."
Also, the bench added that conceptually fees were remuneration for a service rendered but if it is collected for a future period, it would be a payment for services yet to be rendered and in such a case the educational institutions would then be resorting to profiteering.
The court gave this judgement while hearing petitions by medical students of the 2019-2020 batch of MBBS courses in various private medical colleges against the demand notices for fees in advance.
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