The National Medical Commission (NMC) has said before the Kerala High Court that medical colleges can charge MBBS fees for four-and-a-half years of formal training, maintaining that institutions cannot collect tuition for a period beyond the notified period.The provision came in response to a petition filed by the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association, which has challenged the Commission’s directives on returning the collected funds for an additional six months. In its statement to the court, the NMC asserted that only the Commission has the power to define the duration of MBBS courses and that the collection of fees should be part of the process.NMC lists the eligibility criteria for the duration of the courseThe board relied on Sections 10 and 24 of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, read with the Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) Guidelines, 2024 written under the Graduate Medical Education Regulations (GMER). According to this, the MBBS program consists of 54 months, or four and a half years, of academic training, followed by one year of compulsory rotational training (CRMI).The NMC told the court that charging fees beyond the duration of the course is not in line with the official scheme of the MBBS programme, as the course does not include tuition.Previous court decisions form the legal basisThe bench also referred to the interim order passed in Abhishek Yadav v. Union of India (WP No. 730 of 2022), where complaints regarding non-payment of stipend and imposition of fees related to internships and internship fees were considered.It also referred to the decisions of TMA Pai Foundation v. State of Karnataka, Islamic Academy of Education v. State of Karnataka and PA Inamdar v. State of Maharashtra, which stated that the fees should be reasonable, transparent, non-conventional and commensurate with the educational facilities and services provided.The committee will review what should be followedThe NMC maintained that charging fees for periods beyond the training period, where no corresponding guidelines are issued, would not be subject to these regulations. It reiterated that the MBBS fee should be paid only for the four-and-a-half-year course.The board also told the court that all medical colleges, institutes and universities should comply with the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, relevant laws and legal guidelines related to medical education. It added that any case of non-compliance would be looked into seriously and appropriate action would be initiated as per rules and regulations.