Chitwan Medical Colleges accused of overcharging

CHITWAN: Medical colleges based in Chitwan district have been overcharging the students going against the fees list determined by the government.

As per a report prepared by a task force formed under the convenorship of the then National Planning Commission member Dr Tirtha Khaniya four years back, no medical colleges could charge over Rs 3 million for the MBBS programme. Besides, they should collect fees on installment basis.

But going against the report, College of Medical Sciences, Chitwan is charging Rs 6 million in lump sum from students for MBBS degree before the entrance exam. The entrance exam has been scheduled for September 13. The collection of exorbitant fees by the medical colleges here has hit commoners hard.

Moreover, the college affiliated with the Kathmandu University raises Rs 100,000 annually from each student under different headings. The college said all 150 seats allocated for the MBBS programme have been booked. It offers MBBS classes for 150 students each year.

Likewise, Chitwan Medical College is raising Rs 4.5 million in lump sum from students. This charge will go up to Rs 5.3 million if students pay in installments, according to college enrollment section staff Indira Nepal.

An effective monitoring of medical colleges and their activities from the state has been realized to discourage misconducts flourishing there. When approached, Dr Khaniya accused the government representatives of colluding with college proprietors just for personal benefits. He stressed the need of effective measures by the government to check the monopoly of medical colleges.