Telangana HC implements an older fee structure for PG medicos

Giving a big relief to the PG medicos pursuing medical and dental courses in the state, Telangana High Court has struck down GO 41 and GO 43 and directed the colleges to collect fees as per the older GO.

Telangana government had issued GO 41 and GO 43 that came into force from the academic year 2017-18. It allowed private colleges in the state to hike the tuition fees from 72% to 990%. These GOs were challenged in the court as they were issued without approval of the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) and hence it was a violation of many Supreme Court judgements. Now, Telangana High Court has not only set aside these GOs on fee structure but has also directed the colleges to collect fees in terms of an older GO that was passed with the recommendation of the TAFRCC.

The court has also asked the private colleges to refund the excess money collected from students and to release the PG certificates of the candidates who have completed the courses within 30 days.

The petitioners' counsel has welcomed the order and said that scores of postgraduate medical and dental doctors were not able to practice as their original education and course completion certificates were being illegally kept by the colleges. Now, these doctors can start practising and improving the health infrastructure of the state.

After the GOs have come into the force fixing the fee structure for the students admitted into professional postgraduate medical and dental courses in Telangana unaided non-minority and minority medical and dental colleges, the state saw a major hike in the fees especially in the management quota seats in private medical colleges.

These GOs were challenged by the Health Care Reform Doctors Association (HRDA). Dr K Mahesh Kumar, president of HRDA, said "We had approached the court in the Public interest. If the fee is hiked it would have a major impact on the public health in the near future. If a student needs to pay 25 lakh for a seat, he or she will have to earn that money back from the public. So, there will be a future burden on the general public," as reported by Medical Dialogues.

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