‘If you can’t pay, get education’: Supreme Court rejects EWS student’s plea challenging medical college fees

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by an advocate of Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) who asked how the Rs 8 lakh per annum allowance for EWS can be reconciled with the high fees charged by private medical colleges.A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi upheld the order of the Rajasthan High Court which found the fee set by the State Fee Regulatory Committee to be legally valid.During the meeting, Justice Nagarathna said that private colleges cannot be expected to pay the same fees as government institutions.“You can’t say that private schools should pay the same amount as public schools. It can’t be. One person cannot come and say that there is too much privacy, so make it like a government. These are self-funded organizations. For the government…they receive help (don’t help) from the Government. There is a big difference,” he said.Referring to previous Supreme Court rulings, the judge added, “Please see TMA Pai. Capitation fees are prohibited…but that does not mean that all college funds cannot be collected.”The court also emphasized the role of public institutions in medical education. “The support of private medical colleges in the Government in terms of medical education will stop then… We need doctors,” said Justice Nagarathna.Thinking about affordability, he said, “If you can’t afford it…get an education….The petitioner said that the annual salary in private medical colleges in Rajasthan ranges between Rs 18.9 lakh and Rs 25 lakh. According to him, candidates from families earning up to Rs 8 lakh per annum cannot afford the scholarship, making the EWS section ineffective.However, the Rajasthan High Court had already rejected the contention. It also stated that the fee schedule was established by the State Fee Regulatory Committee in accordance with the decision of the Supreme Court on Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka.The Supreme Court bench also said that the EWS reservation is only applicable during the admission period and does not entitle students to any subsidy or fee reduction in private colleges. It also said that there is no law for institutions to give money to EWS students.Refusing to disturb the ruling, the court said, “We find no reason to act on the High Court’s order. Dismissal. The question of law, if any, remains open.”