The Capitation Fee and Medical Education

Recently the news broke out about the crippling strike by junior doctors in Medical College and Hospitals of Maharashtra. The young doctors were agitating against decision of the Goverment to open private Medical Colleges for which seats will be offered on consideration of money (capitation fees). System of capitation fees for medical colleges has been in existence in some other states for a long time. When Lord Macauley and Raja Ram Mohan Roy propagated the present method of schooling the government of India opened a number of schools. These government aided schools were few in number, had financial restrains and were therefore not able to provide adequate facilities to the students. The affluent section of society, therefore , started a few schools known as public schools which charged huge fees in order to maintain and run these institutions. These schools did not seek aid from the government. Because of huge fees only a small section of society could afford to send tht,ir children to such schools. As the education became more popular, these schools too started getting over crowded and attracted the attention of some tycoons. Thus a new trend started in which schools became the focus of earning money through charging capitation fees. These schools provided good facilities for day to day amenities but generally maintained a lower standard of education. More often than not it was not merit but the capacity to pay that determined the admission of a student. One could therefore hardly expect the standards to rise. Initially this practice was limited for general schools but soon enough professional education too became its target. Medical professionals are a group who earn name, fame, wealth and status all at the same time and therefore, the profession attracts larger segment of society. Majority of the medical schools are government aided and admissions to these are done purely on merit. Students with higher intelligence and calibre are able to get admission through entrance examinations. This is fortunate because medical professionals deal with the precious human life. Learning of medical science demands a high level of intelligence and hardwork and those who do not possess basic ingredients should not be allowed to enter this profession. Unfortunately the evil of capitation fees has spread widely in this field. There are a few medical schools which admit students on payment of large capitation fees. Obviously only the students who can afford to …