In a relief to medical aspirants, the Gujarat government on Tuesday announced a reduction in fees for MBBS courses in 13 colleges under the state-run Gujarat Medical Education and Research Society (GMERS), which it had recently hiked.
The state government's decision to reduce the fees has come after protests by students and political parties.
The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting held in Gandhinagar under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, state Health Minister Rushikesh Patel said.
Speaking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Patel said the state government, in the interest of the students, has decided to reduce the fee for 2,100 MBBS seats in 13 GMERS colleges.
For the government quota, the existing fee of Rs 5.5 lakh has been reduced to Rs 3.75 lakh and in the management quota, it has been brought down to Rs 12 lakh from Rs 17 lakh, indicating a reduction of 80 per cent and 62.5 per cent respectively.
The new fee structure will be applicable from the medical academic year of 2024-25, he said.
Last month, the state government issued a notification for hiking fees at GMERS colleges for 2024-25.
In government quota seats, the annual fee of Rs 3.3 lakh was hiked to Rs 5.5 lakh, while for management quota, it was increased to Rs 17 lakh from Rs 9 lakh, the notification stated.
Members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had staged protests against the hike, and the Gujarat Congress had threatened to launch a stir if the government failed to withdraw its decision.