Hyderabad: The cost of an MBBS seat in private medical colleges is touching Rs 1 crore in Telangana.
In previous years, the cost of MBBS seats in Category ‘B’ in almost all private medical colleges was hovering between Rs 60 to Rs 70 lakh while the cost of PG medical seats would cross the Rs 1-crore mark.
Even the price of a BDS seat in private dental colleges is reaching an unprecedented Rs 40 lakh. In Andhra Pradesh, however, the price is still in the same range as last year at about Rs 70 lakh in private medical colleges.
50 per cent of the seats in private medical colleges have to be given up by the management for Eamcet counselling while about 35 per cent seats are reserved for Category B and the remaining for NRIs. The state also fixes fees for these seats but they are usually sold off unofficially, according to government.
The TS Eamcet counselling for convener quota seats began on Wednesday and for the management quota, it would commence in the second week of August.
Negotiators say the price could cross the Rs 1-crore mark by next week if seats still remain. “The reason for the high price is the limited number of seats that are expected to be available.
There are 18 medical and dental colleges in the State, and five medical colleges – Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad, Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal, Nizamabad Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences in Adilabad are being managed by the State government.
The total number of seats in all these colleges is 2,600, of which 1,750 seats are in private medical colleges.
According to sources, it’s in this Category “C “that the private college managements make big money. The cost of the MBBS seat for the five-year course, which was around Rs 30 lakh a couple of years ago, has now gone up to Rs 50 lakh to Rs 70 lakh; and in some cases even up to Rs 1 crore in the name of NRI quota. However, except to the extent of fee prescribed by the government, the remaining amount is collected in black.
MCI inspections report is yet to come so colleges are cashing in on that. Time left is also less,” a negotiator said, asking not to be named. The MCI has given its nod to all the existing seats so there is no degree of uncertainty there.