#NEET: Paying Irrational Fee for Medical College Seat: An Unwise Idea

At a time when medical students and even doctors are uncertain whether opting for medical college along with the vulnerability and risk associated with   becoming a doctor is worth it or not, some are naive enough to pay millions as fee for medical education and for securing a seat of MBBS.

     A famous axiom “as you sow so shall you reap” has an application to health system. One is convinced that industry selling medical college seats has been quite powerful and practically, every technique to sell seats is prevalent to bypass the merit and deny seat to deserving candidates. These meritorious children, who are denied seats could have been   good doctors and   real custodian for the health of people.  But if for some reason, business prevails and government fails to prevent this cruel and corrupt selling of medical seats, an Einstein brain is not required to guess the whole malaise prevalent in health system

         Truth cannot remain hidden for long.  It has to be realized that getting into medical college is a minuscule component of the process of becoming a good doctor.  Once they opt for this profession, the real tough and prolonged battle begins. Quite a few successful candidates may eventually feel that the money spent and the hard work may not be worth it, especially those who may have invested in heavy fees and in debt.

   Although the whole effort and huge expenditure to become doctors in this way may be really worthless in today’s scenario, considering the difficult times and vulnerability of medical profession

Paying the irrational fee of medical colleges may be an unwise idea for the candidates, who are not from strong financial backgrounds. But at the same time unfortunately, it may be a compulsion and entrapment for students, who have entered the profession and there is no way forward or fail to get residency.

The government should regulate these fees and also ensure that if a heavy fee is charged, then it should be spent on medical education of students only. It should not take a form of just any another money minting industry to be used for other purposes.

        Going by selection criteria  of candidates as doctors, if given a choice, by whom a patient will like to get treated? A candidate who scored 20% – 30 % marks or a person getting 60% or 80% marks. NEET eligibility getting lower and  candidates getting around 30 % of marks  may be able to secure a degree to treat patients.  What will be the deciding factor? So in the end, seats remain unfilled and may be a kind of auction, whosoever can pay millions, takes the seat.

    Ironically, that strange equation is acceptable in lieu of money paid!

It is ironical that the medical profession is regulated, but medical business or medical education is not.  Such business of producing doctors based on their paying capacity should be clearly trounced for the benefit of public. Foundations of healthcare should be on touchstone of merit, ethics and character and not based on business deals.

       Therefore meritorious students, especially from average backgrounds, who opt to become doctors feel cheated when they pay massive fee to buy a seat. It is an insult to the very virtue of merit which should have been the sole criteria for these admissions.

     It is the people and society, who will be the real sufferers in future. Therefore resentment to such system should come from the society.  If the society continues to accept such below par practices, it has to introspect, whether it actually deserves to get good doctors.

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