Chandigarh, August 8
Former Punjab Education Minister and MLA Pargat Singh has strongly criticised the Punjab Government over the hike in MBBS fees. He alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government, which had promised to provide affordable education, has continuously increased MBBS fees in Punjab, making it even more difficult for children from middle-class and economically weaker families to pursue their dream of becoming doctors.
Pargat said that the tuition fee for MBBS at government medical colleges has been increased from ₹9.98 lakh to ₹10.83 lakh. After adding hostel and mess expenses, a student needs approximately ₹13–14 lakh at the outset to complete an MBBS degree. He questioned why the government is making education so expensive in a state where a large number of families dream of seeing their children become doctors.
Pargat said that the situation is even more concerning in private medical colleges. Around 60 per cent of MBBS seats in Punjab are in private medical colleges, where the fee for a seat under the government quota is approximately ₹24.67 lakh, while the tuition fee under the management quota has risen to as much as ₹60.92 lakh. This is directly affecting families who are being forced to spend their entire life savings to provide better education to their children.
Citing available data and comparing Punjab with neighbouring states, Pargat Singh said that the total MBBS fee in government medical colleges in Haryana is approximately ₹4.23 lakh. In comparison, the fee at a government medical college in Punjab is around ₹6.60 lakh higher. This means that, at the level of college fees alone, a student in Punjab has to spend approximately 2.5 times more than a student in Haryana. Similarly, fees in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan and Delhi are also significantly lower than in Punjab.
Pargat said that this is not merely an issue of fees, but also a question of the government’s priorities. Instead of providing better and affordable education to the youth of Punjab, the government is formulating policies that are gradually making medical education accessible only to financially well-off families.
Pargat said the government must explain why MBBS fees in Punjab are so much higher than in neighbouring states. “Do children from poor and middle-class families not have the right to become doctors? If the government talks about making education accessible to all, then what is the justification for continuously increasing fees?”
Pargat said that along with improving the quality of medical education and increasing the number of medical seats in Punjab, ensuring affordable education is also the government’s responsibility. Merely making grand claims about educational reforms will not be enough. The government must ensure that a talented child from an ordinary Punjabi family is not deprived of the dream of becoming a doctor because of financial constraints.