Chennai: Self-financing medical colleges in the state are demanding payments from students admitted through counselling that far exceed the fees disclosed to the state selection committee, leaving families facing extra charges of up to Rs8 lakh a year and, in some cases, cash demands without receipts.The fee committee fixes tuition for self-financing colleges and state private universities. Colleges may set additional charges for hostel accommodation, mess, transport, deposits and other items. But the National Medical Commission requires medical colleges to publish their complete fee structure on their websites, and the Selection Committee requires colleges to disclose all charges before counselling so that families can compare costs before they choose a college.That disclosure system is breaking down, parents and student counsellors say. Four days after Round 1 allotments were announced, parents and candidates are visiting colleges to complete admissions and finding that fee demands differ sharply from the figures published on the selection committee website. One parent said a private college in the south TN asked them to bring Rs8.40 lakh in cash, in addition to the annual tuition fee of Rs16.20 lakh. “This is as bad as capitation. They are not accepting any other mode of payment,” the parent said. “We were told the tuition fee is Rs16.20 lakh. We must pay an additional Rs8.40 lakh in cash.”The family has not paid the amount because the college is not its first choice, the parent said. If the student secures a seat elsewhere in a later round, there is no assurance that the college will return the cash, he said. “There is no guarantee he will find a seat in the next round,” he added.Student counsellors say they are hearing such complaints from several parents. “We cannot ask students or candidates to complain,” said student counsellor Manickavel Arumugam. “Parents say that if their son continues to study in the same college, he will be victimised. Govt has not initiated action against institutions that openly violate rules,” he added.At Venkateshwara Medical College and Research Institute in Chennai, the approved annual tuition is Rs5.4 lakh for students admitted through the govt quota and Rs16.20 lakh for management-quota students. The college told the selection Committee that hostel, mess and transport charges would range from Rs2.25 lakh to Rs3.35 lakh, and that other fees would total Rs1 lakh a year — Rs60,000 as development fee and Rs40,000 as university fee.But the college’s website lists “other fees” of Rs5.50 lakh. Hostel and mess fees range from Rs2.50 lakh to Rs3.50 lakh, and transport costs Rs1 lakh more. The gap pushes the annual cost above Rs24 lakh for some management-quota students. “We would have opted for deemed universities through central counselling had we known the fee here was so high,” said R Surianarayanan, whose nephew has been allotted a seat at the college. “It is unfair to declare a lower fee for counselling.”Sri Muthukumaran Medical College has sought a Rs50,000 caution deposit that was not disclosed on the govt webpage, parents said. Its other fee is Rs1.80 lakh, compared with Rs1.50 lakh shown on the selection committee website. “This was not even on the webpage,” one parent said. “I got this as a printout when I went there to pay fees.”Student counsellors said the problem extends beyond listed charges. Colleges are forcing students to buy books, laboratory coats and other materials from campus stores at prices several times higher than the market rate, they said. Some students are also required to pay Rs1 lakh for college transport even when they live within 500 metres of the campus.Panimalar Medical College, however, is collecting fees in line with the amounts disclosed to the Selection Committee, according to the fee comparison.
