No change in exorbitant fee post Neet: Parents

Chennai: Despite the fact that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) was introduced with the intention of checking the collection of capitation fees, many parents complain of still having to pay enormous amounts to send their children for MBBS.

The common entrance test, which was made mandatory since last year, is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education. Unwelcome in the state, because of the syllabus it follows, it has also received flak for the fact that it failed to check the collection of capitation fees.

“My daughter had passed the test last year, and she got selected in three colleges, which, we felt was a blessing. However, all the institutes were demanding between Rs 16 and Rs 18 lakh a year. As we have to spend at least Rs 80 lakh on her education, we had no option but to seek an educational loan,” said Dr Srinivasan, a government hospital doctor.

“The government should take the initiative to prevent this. Many like me cannot afford to pay such exorbitant amounts,” he added.

Stating that the collection of capitation fees is still present indirectly, Dr G. R. Ravindranath of the Doctors’ Association for Social Equality said,

“The Central government should introduce a law to check such corrupt practices and fix the fee amount for deemed universities and private colleges. A single window system should also be introduced for admissions.”

While many parents see the introduction of the test as a welcome move, they demand that it serve the purpose for which it was introduced. “Though we were aware that the syllabus would be new, we encouraged our daughter to write it as it is a good initiative to see our country produce good doctors. However, hearing about the large amounts that colleges continue to collect is upsetting. The purpose of Neet is therefore lost,” said Rosy Jegan, from Madurai, whose daughter had given the common entrance test this year.