Private medical colleges in Karnataka have cut fees by up to 50 per cent in management quota as they attempt to fill vacant Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) seats that have remained unfiled despite multiple rounds of counselling. Some institutions have reportedly reduced the overall cost of the course by nearly half, which highlights the growing resistance among students and families regarding the high price of private medical education.
Around 190 undergraduate management quota seats remained available after the regular admission process, which led colleges to explore fee concessions to attract candidates, Deccan Herald reported. In some cases, the total fee being offered has reportedly dropped from about Rs 1.26 crore to nearly Rs 65 lakh for MBBS.
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The reduction in fee is significant as vacant management seats can lead to revenue loss for private institutions. Colleges depend on higher-priced management and NRI quota admissions to support operations while offering seats under categories where fees are considerably lower.
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However, the revised cannot reflect in the Karnataka Examinations Authority's published fee structure after counselling has begun. According to the report, some institutions are directly reaching out to prospective students, including through admission agents. The discount amount applies to the remaining years of the course, while first-year payment is made through the KEA under the notified admission process.
The current situation is the aftermath of an unusual admission season in Karnataka. After seven rounds of counselling in October, 191 MBBS seats were vacant, something the state had not witnessed in the previous five years. Earlier in the admission cycle, hundreds of management seats had remained unfilled even as government and lower-fee categories continued to attract strong demand.
High tuition costs is considered the primary factor behind the vacant seats. Another change affecting demand is the availability of NRI quota seats in government medical colleges. These seats are priced at around Rs 25 lakh annually, compared with considerably higher charges at several private institutions, which gives families seeking NRI-category admissions a less expensive alternative.
The Directorate of Medical Education has approached the National Medical Commission seeking a reduction in the NEET-UG qualifying percentile so that more candidates can become eligible for the remaining seats.
The fee cut highlights a broader contradiction in medical admissions, wherein demand for MBBS courses remains high across India, but expensive seats struggle to find students. For private colleges, the vacant seats could intensify the debate over whether management quota fees need to be reconsidered as medical education capacity continues to expand.
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