The National Medical Commission (NMC) has reiterated before the Kerala High Court that medical colleges can charge MBBS fees only for the prescribed four-and-a-half years of academic study, maintaining that institutions cannot collect tuition for periods beyond the notified academic duration.The submission came in response to a petition filed by the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association, which has challenged the Commission’s direction on refunding fees collected for an additional six months. In its statement before the court, the NMC maintained that only the Commission is empowered to prescribe the duration of the MBBS course and that fee collection must remain within that framework.NMC cites statutory provisions on course durationThe Commission relied on Sections 10 and 24 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, read with the Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) Guidelines, 2024 framed under the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER). According to these provisions, the MBBS programme comprises 54 months, or four-and-a-half years, of academic study, followed by one year of compulsory rotating medical internship (CRMI).The NMC told the court that charging fees beyond the prescribed academic study period is inconsistent with the approved structure of the MBBS programme, as the internship does not constitute academic teaching.Previous court rulings form legal basisThe Commission also referred to the interim directions issued in Abhishek Yadav v. Union of India (WP No. 730 of 2022), where grievances relating to non-payment of stipend and the imposition of internship-related charges and internship fees were considered.It further cited the judgments in T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka and P. A. Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra, which held that fee structures should be reasonable, transparent, non-exploitative and proportionate to the academic facilities and services actually provided.Commission reiterates compliance requirementThe NMC maintained that levying fees for periods beyond the prescribed academic duration, where no corresponding academic instruction is imparted, 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 Commission also told the court that all medical colleges, institutions and universities are required to comply with the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, applicable regulations and judicial directions governing medical education. It stated that any instance of non-compliance would be viewed seriously and appropriate action could be initiated under the applicable statutory and regulatory provisions.
