[ad_1]
The Gujarat government has announced the withdrawal of its recent decision to significantly hike fees for MBBS courses in medical colleges run by the Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS). The move comes in response to widespread protests across the state against the steep fee hike.
Making the announcement, state government spokesperson and health minister Rushikesh Patel assured that a new circular with revised fees for the 13 GMERS medical colleges will be issued soon. Speaking to media persons in Gandhinagar, Patel stressed that the government is committed to taking decisions in the best interest of students and urged families to remain calm as they are working on providing fee benefits through various schemes.
The decision to roll back the fees came after intense pressure from several quarters, including students’ and parents’ associations, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the political opposition. The Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) had taken a strong stand against the fee hike and state Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil had threatened to hold protests at all levels if the hike was not rolled back.
The basic fee hike announced on June 28 had increased the annual fee for state and all-India quota seats by 66%. From Rs 3.3 Lakh Management quota fees witnessed an increase of 87%, ranging from Rs 5.5 lakh onwards. From Rs 9.07 Lakh Rs 17 lakh, while the NRI quota fee was increased by 13% from $22,000 to $25,000 per year.
Critics argue that such a huge hike is contrary to the core mission of GMERS, which is to provide affordable medical education and strengthen Gujarat’s healthcare sector. The Gujarat chapter of the IMA had written to Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressing concern that the fee hike would make medical education nearly unaffordable for poor and middle-class students.
Also read: UPSC CMS Exam 2024: Here are important exam day guidelines all candidates must remember
Established 14 years ago, GMERS operates 13 medical colleges across the state, with a total of 2,100 seats. Of these, 75% are reserved for state quota, 10% for management quota and 15% for NRI quota, while 75 seats are allotted for all-India quota.
This is not the first time GMERS has faced protests over fee hike. In 2023, a similar hike was rolled back following protests.
[ad_2]
