Medical Colleges in Maharashtra owned by senior politicians are in the middle of a scam. At least three colleges in Nagpur, Pune and Nasik have overcharged students by increasing fees to cover their bizarre expenses. The scam was unearthed after the Parents' Association of Medical Students got a reply to an RTI application asking colleges to justify the steep hike.
The colleges shocked students and parents when they doubled their fees this year without any reason. The Supreme Court had clearly laid out that the fees charged by medical colleges should be a reasonable amount of what a college spends to provide education. The colleges have submitted their balance sheets to justify their fee hike.
NKP Salve Medical College: Balance Sheet
Interest: Rs 2.8 crore
Petrol and diesel expenses: Rs 21 lakh
Vehicle hiring costs: Rs 4,26,000
Bank commission: Rs 21 lakh
DA & Allowances payable: Rs 2.38 crore
The balance sheet shows everything from petrol expenses, advertising expenses, bank commission charges and even the legal fees are being used to explain their new skyrocketing fees. But one wonders how do they get away with probably because all are owned by politicians. NKP Salve Medical College in Nagpur, is owned by Ranjit Deshmukh, who was once a minister and chief of the Maharshtra Pradesh Congress Committee. This college has hiked its fee from Rs 2 lakh to nearly Rs 4.5 lakh this year.
D Y Patil Dental college in Pune is owned by education baron and veteran Congress leader D Y Patil. The college has increased its fee three times from Rs 86,000 per year to Rs 2.3 lakh.
D Y Patil Dental College: Balance Sheet
Hospital charges: Rs 36 lakh
Bank interest, commission charges: Rs 1.20 crore
Advertising charges: Rs 14,34,000
Travelling, conveyance expenses: Rs 18,36,000
Legal, consultancy charges: Rs 7,25,000
The most cruel given that the students are locked in a legal battle against these colleges over hike in fees. NDMVPS Medical College Nasik is owned by the sitting MLA of the NCP Vasantrao Pawar. The fees has been increased from Rs 97,000 per annum to Rs 1, 80,000. The college has taken financial jugglery to a new art. The fee committee took years 2003-2004 and 2005-2006 as its base years to fix fees of Medical colleges. In both the years, NDMVPS has shown a loss of over Rs 2 crore perhaps to make a case for fee hike. But in the interim year 2004- 2005, the college has shown a huge profit of over Rs 7 crore.
In fact it's amounting to profiteering. Any charges that are in addition to the cost of education fee is capitation fee, which is a cognizable offence," said Rajesh Jain, Member, Parents' Association of Medical Students. What's stunned and angered parents is that on the Supreme court's orders the government had set up a committee to monitor fee hikes. But instead of acting as a watchdog the committee has given the colleges a free hand to jack up fees.
