Private Colleges Across Maharashtra to Keep Fees Unchanged for 2025-26 Academic Year

Pune, 28th April 2025: In a move that will bring relief to thousands of students, hundreds of private, unaided colleges offering professional courses across Maharashtra have announced they will not increase their fees for the upcoming 2025-26 academic session.

This includes several colleges with high fees, such as two institutions offering the highly coveted MBBS programs and five others providing MD/MS courses.

According to the data, 115 pharmacy colleges, 100 MBA institutions, 75 engineering colleges, and 16 Ayurveda colleges have opted to maintain their current fee structure. Among them, Amravati’s Dr Punjabrao Deshmukh Memorial Medical College, which charged Rs 10.8 lakh for MBBS and Rs 12.3 lakh for MD/MS last year, will keep these fees unchanged for the upcoming session.

Similarly, Talegaon’s MIMER Medical College will retain its MBBS fee at Rs 11.3 lakh, and several postgraduate medical colleges, including Bombay Hospital Institute of Medical Sciences in Mumbai (Rs 10 lakh), ACPM Medical College in Dhule (Rs 10.74 lakh), and Sanjeevan Medical College in Miraj (Rs 9.6 lakh), will also maintain their fees.

While no fee hikes are a welcome development for students, parent representative Sudha Shenoy expressed concerns over other financial burdens imposed by private colleges. “While the fee structure may remain the same, many colleges are still charging exorbitant amounts under categories like security deposits, hostel fees, and club charges,” she said. “Last year, one PG medical college saw its fees double, and despite the high costs, many private institutions don’t even offer stipends comparable to those provided by government colleges.”

In response to such concerns, the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) had previously capped caution money at Rs 50,000 for all medical courses and set upper limits for other courses.

FRA Chairperson, former Bombay High Court judge Vijay Lakhichand Achliya, suggested that many colleges are likely content with their current fee structure. “Some institutions may feel that the fees they charged last year are sufficient, and they do not need to make any changes,” he explained. “Additionally, some rural colleges may struggle to attract students if they impose higher fees.”

An educator familiar with the process noted that some colleges, after assessing their financial situation, choose not to request a fee hike in anticipation of potential reductions during the review process. “These colleges understand that pushing for higher fees may not be feasible in the current climate,” the educator remarked.