Govt’s formula: Pay Rs 1.5 lakh, become a doctor

The education barons who accepted the formula, have got a reward in return. The government has decided to hike the management quota seats from 15 to 25 per cent and that too without the compulsion of filling students through state’s common entrance test. The colleges will have to pick students from MHCET only while filling the remaining 75 per cent seats. Significantly, the differential fee formula goes against a recent Supreme Court decision.

Shinde said the managements of private colleges will file an affidavit in the apex court for its approval. ‘‘Once the SC clears it, admissions can begin,’’ he said. The fee structure will be applicable for the current academic session and a High Court-appointed committee will work out the fee for the next year.

The reactions from managements of private colleges were mixed. NCP MP Datta Meghe, who runs engineering and medical colleges, said: ‘‘We have agreed to decrease the fee due to CM’s intervention and because we are concerned about students’ welfare.’’

Vishwanath Karad, president of Maharashtra Association of Professional Educational Institutions, expressed unhappiness over the compulsion of admission through the state’s centralised entrance test. ‘‘After all, Karnataka does allow for college discretion too,’’ he said.

Student bodies pointed out holes in the fee structure. Pravin Ghuge, state secretary of ABVP, termed the formula as pro-management. ‘‘What these institutions couldn’t extract from the public, they will now get from government,’’ he said. He added that the 25 pc management quota is likely to become a ‘‘malpractices quota’’. ‘‘If colleges are reducing their fees, it means they were charging a higher amount earlier,’’ he said.

Maharudra Dake, general secretary, Students’ Federation of India Maharashtra chapter, said that the new fee structure will be affordable only to those who earn more than Rs 36,000 a month. ‘‘Only this kind of monthly pay check amounts to Rs 4 lakh a year out of which parents could keep around 1.5 lakh for education. But even a high court judge cannot afford this,’’ Dake said.