To ensure better medical education and infrastructure facilities for students, the Punjab Cabinet on May 27 decided to increase the fee for the MBBS course in government and private medical colleges.

For our comprehensive coverage and latest updates on COVID-19 click here.

According to a spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office, the fee for the MBBS course in the state for government medical colleges was last notified in 2015 and for private colleges in 2014. With the massive surge in the price index in the years thereafter, these colleges are facing fiscal problems and are unable to meet the norms of Medical Council of India, thus necessitating a fee hike, the spokesperson said.

These colleges had, in fact, been seeking fee hike for a long time as they were facing hardships to provide good infrastructure and impart quality education to the students at the current fee rates, he added.