Nagpur Medical College Told To Cease Advance Fee Demands By Maharashtra Fee Regulating Authority

Mumbai: Following a complaint about a medical college in Nagpur asking for three years of academic fees in advance, the state Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) has directed the dean of the institute to submit an undertaking assuring that they won't charge any fees in advance.

Directive Issued

While the directive was issued in March, it was revealed recently in the minutes of the meeting released by the authority.

The order came after the father of a second-year student at NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences wrote to FRA, claiming that the college asked them to pay the tuition fees for three academic years within 18 to 20 months of the admission.

While the college claimed that it has since 'resolved' the grievance, FRA still asked it to submit an affidavit to undertake that it would comply with the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015.

The authority also asked the institute to publish the schedule of fee payment for the entire four-and-a-half-year duration of the course, as was requested by the complainant.

The Act stipulates that professional colleges can't collect more than a year's fee in an academic year. It also provides that the excess amount demanded by the college would be treated as a capitation fee and could result in action against the institute.

Statement Of Institute's Representative

While there's no record of the college accepting or refuting the student's allegation in the proceedings of the hearing conducted by FRA, the institute's representative told the authority that the complainant had agreed to withdraw its grievance as there was a “miscommunication” and “misunderstanding”.

The complainant had requested to dispose of the complaint, claimed the college. The father, who didn't appear before the authority on the day of the hearing, had also written an e-mail to FRA in March saying that he decided to withdraw the complaint “considering the prospects and professional career” of his son. He said that he has decided not to pursue the matter as his identity has been revealed.