AYUSH NEET Counselling 2025: Maharashtra colleges refuse waivers to women, EBC students; demand full fees

Despite past warnings from authorities, health science education institutes – mainly AYUSH colleges and physiotherapy institutes – in Maharashtra continue to charge full fees from female and economically backward class (EBC) aspirants during the ongoing NEET counselling. If they fail to pay, the candidates are denied admission.

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Several girls and EBC students, who are eligible for 100% and 50% fee concession, respectively, in the professional courses, have complained about being asked to pay the entire sum of tuition fees by AYUSH and physiotherapy institutes allotted to them in the first round of the state-level centralised admission process (CAP). While the candidates point out that these demands are a violation of the government directives against levying excess fees from disadvantaged students, the colleges blame the state for the delay in releasing the educational aid amount.

A female candidate, who was allotted a Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) seat at the Newlife Ayurvedic College, Pune, couldn't confirm her admission as the institute demanded the entire sum of Rs 1.85 lakh fee. "They not only refused to provide the fee waiver, but didn't even accept our plea to pay in two installments. I couldn't pay such a large amount," she said. AYUSH stands Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopahty, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy.

Another candidate, the son of a street hawker belonging to EBC category, was also quoted the full amount, meant for general category students. "My parents were told that we won't get any concessions," he said.

The institute has, however, refuted the claims of any wrongdoing. "All the students are allotted the institute through the CET Cell [the state common entrance test cell]. We are not very much involved in the admission process and follow all the norms of the Cell. Even if the students are opting for betterment they are supposed to pay the entire fees," Zubair Shaikh, secretary of Al-Ameen Educational and Medical Foundation, which manages the college, told Careers360.

AYUSH NEET UG Counselling: Recurring complaints

The excessive fee complaints have become a recurring feature of the medical admission process in the state during the past few years. During the last year's UG admissions, the Admission Regulating Authority (ARA) had addressed 25 grievances pertaining to eight medical, one dental, five ayurveda and one homeopathy colleges. Most of these complainants, including female and EBC candidates, had alleged that they were denied their allotted seat when they refused to pay the excess fee demanded by the institutes. The authority had asked the errant colleges to admit these candidates.

However, the colleges had sought to put the state government in the dock for not reimbursing the institutes for the waived fees, and causing them financial hardships. The private medical and dental colleges had last year briefly stopped the admission process in its tracks and only resumed after reassurances from the government.

The students from disadvantaged communities in the state – including the scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), other backward classes (OBC), economically weaker section (EWS) or EBC, socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) and minorities – avail various national and state scholarship and freeship programmes.

In the run up to the Maharashtra assembly elections last year, the government had increased the fee concession for women who have family income less than Rs 8 lakh and are pursuing professional higher education courses, from 50% to 100%.

CET Cell Maharashtra portal, warnings

The state has, on multiple occasions, sought to prevent colleges from demanding additional fees. Following the complaints about the institutes still asking female students to pay the fee amount up front, the higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil had threatened them with action.

In October last year, the state medical education commissioner had also reminded the health science institutes to collect only half regular the fee amount from EWS, EBC and SEBC candidates, and threatened action against the violators. Last month, the CET Cell Maharashtra launched a dedicated portal to allow candidates to register fee-related grievances. However, the complaints continue unabated.

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On Tuesday, a female student wrote to the CETCell, claiming that Sumitrabai Thakare Ayurvedic College, Yavatmal, asked her to pay the entire fee amount of Rs 1.75 lakh, even though she belonged to the EWS category. An institute official told her that she would get half of the money back when the government disburses the scholarship amount.

The institute, however, denied the allegation. "College will not charge any fees to SC, ST, VJ/NT [Vimukta Jati / Nomadic Tribe] SBC [special backward class], SEBC, OBC, EWS or eligible candidates for fee waiver from the government of Maharashtra during the ongoing UG 2025-26 admission. We are following the rules and regulations of apex council NCISM , MUHS, Director of AYUSH, FRA, ARA and government of Maharashtra and on behalf of Smt Sumitrabai Thakare Ayurvedic College, Yavatmal. I assure you that the college will not charge any extra money to any candidate during admission or after admission in our institute,” Kiran Khandare, principal of the institute, said in a statement. NCISM is the National Commission For Indian System Of Medicine; MUHS is Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, and FRA is Maharashtra’s Fee Regulating Authority.

Another EBC girl candidate, who was allotted CHK Homeopathic Medical College at Alibaug (Raigad) has also filed a complaint with the CET Cell. She said she had to pay the entire fee amount by cheque. "The college is misleading all the students and taking full fees," reads her mail to the authorities.

AMS Ayurved Medical College and Royal College of Physiotherapy, both located in Malegaon (Nashik), have also been named by the candidates for allegedly violating the fee norms.

E-mails and messages sent to these institutes by Careers360 are yet to fetch a response. If and when they do reply, this story will be updated with their comments.

Also read Push for AYUSH courses created many colleges, but BAMS, BHMS, BSMS graduates struggle to find jobs

AYUSH colleges await scholarship funds

An official from a homeopathy college in Marathwada said that they are yet to receive the scholarship amount from the last academic year. "Even though most of our students are girls we don't charge anything besides development fee, university eligibility fee and six months of tuition fee, which is not covered by the state's schemes. We even encourage other institutes to follow the norms," he said.

According to activists, the excess fee demands persist due to inaction from the government.

"While the government departments keep issuing notices and circulars, no action is taken against the colleges violating the norms. Around half of the institutes don't even fulfill the basic requirement of displaying their fee structure online. Many AYUSH colleges charge one and a half years of fees, when the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and fees) Act , 2015 clearly stipulates that they can only charge the current academic year's fee," said Abdur Rahman, president of Mission Awareness Foundation, a Mumbai-based advocacy group.

CET Cell hasn't responded to a request for comment, while Dheeraj Kumar, the principal secretary, medical education department couldn't be reached.