The National Medical Council (NMC) has reiterated to the Kerala High Court that medical colleges can charge Bachelor of Medicine fees only for the stipulated four-and-a-half years of academic study and maintained that institutions cannot charge tuition fees beyond the stipulated academic period.The submission was made in response to a petition filed by the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association, which challenged the commission’s directive to refund fees for the additional six months. The NMC, in its court statement, maintained that only the board has the power to fix the duration of MBBS courses and the fees must be kept within that framework.NMC cites legal provisions on course lengthThe committee relied on Sections 10 and 24 of the National Medical Council Act, 2019, in conjunction with the Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Guidelines, 2024 under the framework of the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER). As per these regulations, the MBBS course consists of 54 months, i.e. four and a half years of academic study, followed by a year of mandatory rotational medical internship (CRMI).The NMC told the court that charging fees beyond the stipulated period of academic study is not in compliance with the approved structure of the MBBS course as internship does not constitute academic teaching.Previous court decisions have legal basisThe committee also referred to the interim directions issued in Abhishek Yadav v. Union of India (No. 730 of 2022), which considered grievances related to non-payment of stipends and imposition of internship related fees and internship fees.It also cited the judgments in TMA Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, Institute of Islamic Education v. State of Karnataka and PA Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra, which held that the fee structure should be reasonable, transparent, non-exploitative and commensurate with the academic facilities and services actually provided.Commission reiterates compliance requirementsThe NMC considers that charging fees beyond the prescribed academic period without providing corresponding academic guidance would be inconsistent with these legal principles. It reiterated that MBBS fees should be charged only for the four-and-a-half-year academic course.The committee also told the court that all medical colleges, institutions and universities are required to comply with the National Medical Council Act, 2019, applicable regulations and judicial directions regarding medical education. It said any breach will be taken seriously and appropriate action may be taken in accordance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
