Chandigarh: Former Punjab education minister and Jalandhar Cantonment MLA Pargat Singh on Saturday criticised the Bhagwant Mann govt over the hike in course fees for MBBS.He said that the Aam Aadmi Party govt, which had promised to provide affordable education, had continuously increased MBBS fees in Punjab, making it even more difficult for children from middle-class and economically weaker sections to pursue their dream of becoming doctors.Pargat said that the tuition fee for the MBBS course at govt medical colleges had increased from Rs 9.98 lakh to Rs 10.83 lakh. After adding hostel and mess expenses, a student needs approximately Rs 13-14 lakh at the outset to complete an MBBS degree, claimed the Congress legislator.He questioned why govt was making education so expensive in a state where a large number of families dream of seeing their children become doctors.The senior Congress functionary said that the situation was even more concerning in private medical colleges. Around 60% of MBBS seats in Punjab are in private medical colleges, where the fee for a seat under govt quota is approximately Rs 24.67 lakh, while the tuition fee under the management quota has increased to as much as Rs 60.92 lakh. This is directly affecting families who are being forced to spend their entire life savings to provide better education to their children, he added.Citing available data and comparing Punjab with neighbouring states, Pargat Singh said that the total MBBS fees in govt medical colleges in Haryana was approximately Rs 4.23 lakh. In comparison, the fee in a govt medical college in Punjab is around Rs 6.60 lakh higher. This means that, at the level of college fees alone, a student in Punjab has to spend approximately 2.5 times more than a student in Haryana.Similarly, fees in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Rajasthan and Delhi are also significantly lower than in Punjab, said Pargat.
