Now Reading: Opposition slams Punjab govt over MBBS fee hike
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Opposition slams Punjab govt over MBBS fee hike
Opposition parties in Punjab criticised the AAP government on Saturday for raising MBBS fees for the 2026-27 academic session. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal called it a setback for deserving…
The Story in Brief
Opposition parties in Punjab criticised the AAP government on Saturday for raising MBBS fees for the 2026-27 academic session. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal called it a setback for deserving students, while former Congress minister Pargat Singh said it broke the government's promise of affordable education. They claimed the hike makes medical education inaccessible for poor and middle-class families. The revised fee for government medical colleges is ₹10.83 lakh for the full 5.5-year course, up from ₹9.98 lakh, an increase of about 8.5%. Private college fees range from ₹24.67 lakh to ₹25.22 lakh for government quota seats and ₹60.92 lakh to ₹64.71 lakh for management quota. Health minister Dr Balbir Singh did not respond to requests for comment.
The Indian Opinion
The opposition's outrage over the MBBS fee hike sounds familiar, but the numbers tell a different story. An 8.5% increase over five years, from ₹9.98 lakh to ₹10.83 lakh for the entire course, hardly qualifies as a financial catastrophe. Calling this a 'blow to meritorious students' is lazy hyperbole that ignores the actual cost of medical education. If the opposition truly cared about affordability, they would demand transparency on where the fee goes and how it compares to real expenses. Watch for them to produce a concrete alternative fee structure, not just slogans.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
