The direction of the National Medical Commission (NMC) that private medical colleges and deemed universities will have to allot fees as per government college benchmarks for 50% of their seats will not apply to colleges in Kerala. This was the order passed by the Kerala High Court, which heard a couple of petitions in connection with the NMC's Office Memorandum (OM) of February 3, 2022.
According to a report by LiveLaw, the ruling was passed by Justice Devan Ramachandran. Private medical colleges in Kerala are governed by the Kerala Medical Education (Regulation and Control of Admission to Private Medical Education Institutions) Act, 2017, and the court observed that since under this Act, the Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC) determines the fee for private colleges in the state — there is no division of government quota and management quota in medical colleges in Kerala. The state government's Commissioner of Entrance Examinations allots seats in private medical colleges in Kerala to all students. Therefore, the court held that the NMC's OM does not apply to colleges in the state.
"...Hence it would also be an impossibility in our state to enforce the "OM" to the aforementioned extent since all students in the Colleges and Deemed Universities are identically placed, it being even if possible — being arbitrary and discriminatory," observed the court in its judgement according to LiveLaw.
On the other hand, the counsel for the NMC argued that the OM had been issued with "laudable objectives" and added that it can be adapted as per the stipulations for fees in respective states.
Appearing for the AFRC, Advocate Mary Benjamin added that the NMC's mandate for the 50% seats could see a rise in the fees of the remaining seats in private colleges.
