Guwahati: Assam health minister Ashok Singhal has defended the fee hike for MBBS and BDS courses in govt medical colleges.Speaking to the media on Saturday, Singhal said the revised fees remained affordable compared with the fees of up to Rs 40 lakh that students may pay at private institutions.“When students who fail to secure seats in govt medical colleges are willing to pay up to Rs 40 lakh at private institutions, the fee hike in our govt medical colleges has been minimal in comparison,” he said.The revised fee structure is based on family income, with lower fees for economically weaker students. It replaces the earlier uniform fee system.For MBBS courses, students from families earning above Rs 9 lakh annually will pay Rs 1 lakh. Those in the Rs 4 lakh-to-Rs 9 lakh income bracket will pay Rs 50,000, while students from the BPL category and low-income families will pay Rs 5,000. This structure came into effect this year.For BDS courses, the annual fee is Rs 75,000 for families earning Rs 9 lakh or more. Students in the middle-income bracket will pay Rs 37,500, while BPL and low-income students will pay Rs 3,750.Singhal said the govt introduced the slabs to keep medical education affordable and prevent fees from discouraging students from pursuing medical courses.
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