Naveen requested PM to ensure students medical education returning from Ukraine
Naveen requested PM to ensure students medical education returning from Ukraine
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Bhubaneswar: Thousands of students have been evacuated from India, notably Odisha, sparking a debate about the high expense of MBBS courses in the nation, which forces lakhs of students to study medicine in countries such as Ukraine.
On Sunday, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting that students who were forced to leave Ukraine complete their medical education in Odisha.
In his letter to Modi, Naveen stated, "I promise you of the complete support of the Odisha government in adopting a suitable solution for this objective."
The Ukraine situation may have brought attention to the sky-high prices of MBBS courses in India, and the evacuation of students has raised concerns about their studies being disrupted.
However, this hasn't stopped the Odisha government from raising the MBBS admission price. The state government has increased the entrance costs for MBBS and super speciality courses by 28% and 49%, respectively.
Following the advice of the State Fee Regulating Committee (FRC), the state government has increased the MBBS entrance fee in state medical institutions from Rs 29,694 to Rs 37,950 for the current academic year.
Similarly, the super specialty course admission price has been increased from Rs 45,500 to Rs 67,800.
In addition, the hostel cost for MBBS and BDS students has been hiked by 40% to Rs 14,000 from Rs 10,000.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has released guidelines for all states to ensure that private medical colleges charge the same tuition as government medical colleges for 50% of seats.
The move by the Odisha government has enraged parents and students alike.
The Medical Students' Union has also expressed dissatisfaction with the government's decision.
The Odisha Parents Federation (OPF), a group fighting for education reform in the state, has requested the government to reverse the decision.
The raise, according to OPF chairman Basudev Bhatta, will prevent many underprivileged students from studying medicine.
"The government advises that fees be increased at regular periods. I am not aware of the specific percentage increase in cost. In a news report, state Health Minister Naba Kishore Das was cited as stating, "Let me analyse the situation and find an agreeable solution."
