Maharashtra NEET Counselling: Medical college ‘confined, forced’ him to retract fee complaint, says aspirant

Sindhudurg Shikshan Prasarak Mandal (SSPM) Medical College in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg is once again facing allegations of excessive fee demand and admission denial by MBBS aspirants belonging to disadvantaged groups.

A Dalit student from Gadchiroli district has alleged that the college, run by the BJP leader and former state chief minister Narayan Rane, asked him to pay far more than the prescribed amount of fee to secure the state quota seat allotted to him in the third round of NEET counselling .

When the candidate complained to the authorities at the state Common Entrance Test Cell (Maha CET Cell), which conducts the NEET UG counselling in Maharashtra, the institute allegedly confined him and forced him to a write a letter to the cell, proclaiming that he had no grievance towards the institute. With his failure to confirm the third round spot, the candidate is now out of contention for MBBS this year.

Parents of two more candidates, a girl belonging to the nomadic tribe (NT)-D category and another from Maratha or socially and educationally backward class (SEBC) group, told Careers360 that they were given their allotted seats only after they agreed to shell out the money demanded by the institute.

The college has denied these allegations.

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SSPM has been the subject of such complaints for at least the last three admission cycles.

Careers360 had last year reported that the institute was among several medical and AYUSH colleges that were directed by the state Admission Regulating Authority (ARA) to admit the candidates refused their allotted seats for various reasons. The institute, however, was again accused of refusing admission to more students in the institute-level round. One of the candidates was ultimately admitted following an intervention from the Bombay High Court (HC) , which asked the private medical college to accommodate the candidate in a supernumerary seat.

Medical aspirants had made similar allegations in the two preceding years as well. However, on both occasions, the authorities had cleared the college of any wrongdoing. Rane had justified the fee demands, citing the high cost of running a medical college in a rural area and dues from the state government towards reimbursing fee waivers to disadvantaged students.

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In the multiple complaints he wrote to the Maharashtra CET Cell, the Gadchiroli student claimed that the college authorities asked him to pay Rs 9.2 lakh, even though the fee structure on the college's website showed him to be liable for only Rs 50,000 refundable caution money -- the entire tuition fee of scheduled caste (SC) students is borne by the state. The candidate was told that the remainder of the amount is for "hostel and mess" charges without providing him any document bearing the details of the fees. When the candidate sought to opt out of hostel and mess service, he was told that it's mandatory.

More alarmingly, when the candidate approached the CET Cell for help, he was made to affirm that the college did no wrong. "Around 4.30 PM [on Tuesday], we were called in the college office and were detained there till 6 PM. They didn't even let us use our mobile phone. We were let off only after being forced to write a letter to the CET Cell. We got no help from the Cell," reads a complaint filed by the candidate in Marathi on Wednesday. He demanded an inquiry against the institute's behaviour.

When the CET Cell was first asked about the issue on Tuesday evening, they had shared the letter the student allegedly wrote under duress. "I am not taking admission at this college due to a personal problem... I confirm that this is not the college's fault and not their problem. I don't have any complaint against SSPM Medical College, Sindhudurg (sic)," reads the communication written in English.

However, the candidate wrote two more letters, one on the same evening and another on Wednesday morning, refuting the contents of the earlier one. However, according to CET Cell, the student soon wrote another one-line email asking not to consider "this mail or complaint".

"The candidate has again mailed that he wants to withdraw his complaint. We are trying to contact him but he is not answering the call," said a CET Cell official on Wednesday afternoon. "He should make up his mind. We will act accordingly,” he added.

In the evening, the candidate eventually replied to the email trail, reiterating his claims against the institute. The CET Cell is yet to respond to this development.

The college has, however, refuted all the allegations. "SSPM Medical College doesn't levy any fees other than the one decided by the state Fee Regulating Authority (FRA). The hostel and mess services are optional; we didn't force candidates to avail them," said Vandana Gaopande, dean of the institute, adding, "The college administration didn't force any student to write any email."

Tejas Ahire, a Pune-based activist assisting the candidate, suggested that the CET Cell should install helpdesks across the colleges to ensure timely resolution of these complaints. “The students shouldn’t be harassed in this manner and they should have easier access to justice,” he said.