Thiruvananthapuram: Admissions to medical colleges and other professional colleges are often disputed over violation of norms over seat allotment and fees. A likely legal hassle has been evaded over admissions for the current academic year in Kerala after talks between management representatives of self-financing medical colleges and state health minister K K Shylaja. The government has vowed to fix the fee structure immediately so that the college authorities are not in a spot over the lack of clarity on the matter.
The managements were riled as the government was planning to conduct the admission on the basis of the previous year's fees. They were asked to get a bond from students stating that they would pay the new fee once it is fixed by the fee regulatory committee. This tentative solution was a legal hazard for the colleges and hence their managements opposed it.
After Monday's talks, the managements of self-financing medical colleges have decided against taking any legal step in the wake of the government's promise that the fee regulatory committee will fix the new fee on a war footing.
The first meeting of the reconstituted free regulatory committee is being held on Tuesday.
During the two-hour-long talks held on Monday, both the government and the managements presented their stances. Subsequently, the managements decided to cooperate with the government for the time being, and take a call on moving the court later in case the new fee is low.
The managements argued that it is difficult to teach the students with the existing fees. The private medical management association, which is a collective of 18 colleges, sought at least Rs 8 lakh in fees.
The four-college Kerala Christian Professional College Managements Federation too pointed out that the current fee is low but did not suggest a new one.