NMC Directs Medical Colleges to Charge MBBS Fees Only for 4.5 Years, Warns of Strict Action

The National Medical Commission has ordered all medical colleges to charge fees only for the 4.5-year academic duration of MBBS, excluding the one-year internship, offering major relief to students.

Mumbai | 10 April, 2026: In a significant move aimed at ensuring fairness in medical education, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has directed all medical colleges, institutions, and universities across the country to charge fees for the MBBS course strictly for the 4.5-year academic duration, excluding the mandatory one-year internship.

The directive comes after multiple instances were reported where medical colleges, including private institutions and deemed universities, were charging students fees for the entire duration of five to five-and-a-half years. This included the internship period, which is not considered part of the formal academic teaching phase.

According to the NMC, the MBBS programme comprises 54 months (4.5 years) of academic education followed by a compulsory one-year internship. The commission emphasized that charging fees for the internship period is not aligned with the academic structure of the course and is therefore unjustified.

The order has been issued under provisions of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, particularly Sections 10 and 24, along with the Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Guidelines 2024. The commission has instructed institutions to strictly adhere to these legal and academic frameworks.

Highlighting the seriousness of the issue, the NMC has warned that any violation of these norms will invite stringent action against the concerned medical colleges and institutions. Authorities have made it clear that non-compliance will not be tolerated.

The commission also referred to several landmark Supreme Court judgments, including cases such as Abhishek Yadav vs Union of India, T.M.A. Pai Foundation vs State of Karnataka, Islamic Academy of Education vs State of Karnataka, and P.A. Inamdar vs State of Maharashtra. These rulings underline that fee structures in educational institutions must be reasonable, transparent, and free from exploitation.

In its communication, the NMC stressed that collecting fees for periods not involving academic instruction amounts to unfair practice and places an undue financial burden on students and their families. The move is seen as an effort to curb irregularities in fee collection and bring greater transparency to medical education in India.

The decision is expected to provide substantial relief to thousands of MBBS aspirants and students across the country, many of whom have raised concerns over excessive fee structures in recent years. It is also likely to standardize fee practices across institutions and reduce disputes related to overcharging.

Education experts believe that this step marks a crucial reform in regulating medical education costs and ensuring that institutions follow a student-centric approach. With rising expenses in higher education, particularly in professional courses like medicine, such regulatory interventions are seen as necessary to maintain affordability and accountability.

The NMC’s directive is expected to be implemented with immediate effect, and institutions have been advised to review their fee structures accordingly to ensure compliance.

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