HC asks private medical colleges to make public the fee structure

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has asked private medical colleges to make public the fee structure levied by them and the rank list of admitted students.

Passing orders on a PIL by G Vijayakumar yesterday, the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M Sathyanarayanan said the fee and other charges payable at the time of admission should be mentioned in the prospectus of private colleges.

In his petition, Vijayakumar wanted the authorities, including the Medical Council of India and Director of Medical Education in Tamil Nadu, to admit students under management quota for MBBS courses by adopting a centralised procedure without issuing a fresh prospectus.

He said the prospectus should specify relevant details and ensure that admissions were done only on the basis of merit and transparency should maintained.

The judges said MBBS students and aspirants should have sufficient time to shift their admissions from one college to another. Therefore, every year MBBS admission should commence on September 20 and the last date of admission should be September 27. "So that one week's time is available for a candidate to shift admission," they said.

The rank list should be available in the official website and the notice board of private colleges. "The arrangement should be made applicable from next year," the bench said.