Maharashtra NEET Counselling: Medical colleges try deemed, pvt university, company tags to avoid state control

Four private medical colleges in Maharashtra are seeking to circumvent state regulations and have greater control over their affairs, including deciding tuition fees, through three different routes.

While KJ Somaiya Medical College (KJSMC), Mumbai has applied to become a deemed-to-be-university, Dr Vithalrao Vikhe Patil Foundation's Medical College (VVPFMC), Ahilyanagar (previously Ahmednagar) and NKP Salve Institute of Medical Sciences (NKPSIMS), Nagpur are in contention for state private university-status under an amended law.

The management of Prakash Institute of Medical Science (PIMS), Sangli has changed its identity from a charitable trust to a Section 8 company, following in the footsteps of the Vedantaa Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS), Palghar, which was, until now, Maharashtra’s only medical college run by a private company.

A fifth institute, BKL Walawalkar Rural Medical College (BKLWRMC) in Ratnagiri, may also get the deemed tag, as its managing body has also approached the University Grants Commission (UGC) to set up a deemed university. While the proposed varsity at the moment doesn’t include medicine programmes, they will likely be added to the new institute by the next academic year.

Also read NEET Counselling 2026: MBBS fees cross Rs 1 crore at 46 medical colleges, soar at new deemed universities

The development comes against the backdrop of the central and state governments pushing for more autonomy for higher education institutions. The medical colleges, in particular, are keen on bypassing state control, especially in financial matters, as some of them have been in a constant tussle with the government agencies over fee fixation and delay in reimbursement of scholarships to disadvantaged students.

Improve academics, research: Medical colleges

The medical institutes' leaders say that the change in the governance system will allow them to improve their academic and research activities and better utilise various provisions of the National Education Policy (NEP), such as faculty exchange, multiple entry-exit and twinning programmes, for health sciences. The activists, however, view it as a worrying trend that will make training in health sciences significantly costlier and deprive marginalised students of the opportunity to pursue medicine.

Maharashtra currently has 85 medical education institutes offering MBBS, including 43 government and 42 private colleges. Of these private institutes, 29 are affiliated to the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Nashik, a state public university, while the other 13 are attached to various deemed universities. Until last month, there was no provision for the state private universities to offer medical courses.

A few days ago, the Prakash Shikshan Mandal, managing body for PIMS Sangli, was allowed to transform into a company, following which the Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (CET) Cell informed the candidates seeking admission to the college, as well as its sister institute, Loknete Rajarambapu Patil Ayurvedic Medical College, that they won’t be eligible for various scholarships and fee waivers provided for students belonging to socially and economically-disadvantaged categories.

Also read HP NEET Counselling 2026: MBBS fees cross Rs 95 lakh at private medical college

For the last two years, PIMS has been embroiled in a legal battle with the state Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) for allegedly overcharging PG students. While the change in its corporate structure means that the college will no longer have to wait for the state to reimburse it for scholarship payments, it will continue to be affiliated to MUHS and will still have to abide by FRA and the state’s centralised admission regime.

‘No drastic change’ in MBBS fees for 2026

The college’s dean Rohini Karambelkar sought to assure that there won’t be any drastic change in the fee structure or overall governance at the institute.

“Our management always wanted to have [the company identity]. We had applied for it a year ago, but got only a week back. There won’t be any change in the college’s governance. The only difference would be that the students will no longer get the scholarships,” she said.

While Karambelkar acknowledged that the delay in clearing dues from the government has been an issue, this isn’t what drove the shift towards corporate structure. “We want to go for NAAC accreditation and this arrangement is more convenient for us,” she added.

NEET Counselling 2026: Maharashtra CET Cell adds note

Meanwhile, the three institutes seeking to leave MUHS – KJSMC Mumbai, VVPFMC Ahilyanagar and NKPSIMS Nagpur – have provisionally been included in the state quota counselling for NEET UG 2026 by the Maharashtra CET Cell, as they are yet to obtain final approval from the authorities. The Maha CET Cell has, however, added a note to the admission brochure informing the candidates about the pending applications of VVPFMC Ahilyanagar and NKPSIMS Nagpur.

“These colleges have submitted their Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and are currently under consideration for establishment as a Private Health Sciences University. Once approved, the admissions and fee structure to these colleges will be governed by the provisions of the Maharashtra Private Universities (Establishment and Regulation) Third Amendment Act, 2026,” reads the note.

Pvt university medical colleges and fee regulation

The law referred to in the note was recently passed by the state legislature to add the health science courses, including medical, dental, nursing, and allied health sciences, among the programmes that can be offered by private or self-financed universities. The sponsoring body is required to have an at least 20-year-old medical college with National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) Accreditation Grade ‘A’ and above. It should also be running postgraduate courses in at least half the disciplines for a minimum of 10 years.

These private universities in Maharashtra are not entitled to receive any financial assistance from the government, nor are their students given any aid. They are also exempt from the state’s admission and fee regulations, though they are required to have their own Fee Regulating Authority, chaired by a retired judge.

It’s not clear if the new private health science universities would be included in the state or the central counselling for NEET UG.

New status before NEET UG 2026 counselling closes

The two colleges seeking the private university status have received letters of intent (LOIs) from the government; they are awaiting inspection and final approval, as they hope to get their new avatar before the counselling for 2026-27 session gets over.

While the VSPM Academy of Higher Education, the managing body for NKPSIMS Nagpur, has applied for four of its institutes – nursing, dental and physiotherapy colleges besides the medical college – VVPFMC Ahilyanagar’s management has so far included only the med school in its proposal. It plans to gradually add its other health science education institutes to the proposed university.

Also read Why Maharashtra’s BATU University makes engineering, pharmacy graduates wait years for marksheets

The two colleges said that their main objective behind seeking varsity status is to enhance their educational offerings. Ashish Deshmukh, the vice president of VSPM Academy of Higher Education, who also happens to be a member of the state legislature from the ruling BJP, told Careers360, that institute wants to avoid the “bureaucratic hurdles” and “red-tapism” in the state government and MUHS.

“The whole world is looking at India to set up universities. We have seen all the good work done by autonomous and deemed universities. With the bureaucratic hurdles, it’s next to impossible to get things done. There's no research grant. With private university status, we can do twinning programmes and faculty exchange with other universities. Of late, autonomy has been encouraged. We will have freedom for designing pedagogy and curriculum,” he said.

Deshmukh added that the delays in government payments have put a financial strain on the institute.

“The most important issue is the delay in scholarship reimbursement. We have to wait for two-three years for the money. The dues are worth four-five months of employee salaries. With the hospital being the major drain, we are barely able to survive. It has been difficult to retain the staff,” he said.

Deshmukh said that the institute chose the state private path over deemed university status as they currently don’t plan to expand beyond the state. When asked about changes in the college’s fee structure, he said that it will be decided by the institute FRA.

Private medical university for ‘excellence’

On the other hand, Sunil Mhaske, dean of VVPFMC Ahilyanagar, said that their decision is primarily driven by academic concerns, not economic. “We want to achieve excellence and improve research. We need to maintain our level as a university,” he said, adding the institute will stick to the fees decided by the state FRA for the current academic year.

KJSMC Mumbai, a part of the Somaiya Vidyavihar group which already runs a private university, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, has opted for deemed status. However, the institute didn’t explain its decision. “We have applied for it, but I don’t have any information if we have been awarded it,” said Mitali Nayak, the college dean. It’s also unclear which of the Somaiya institutes would join the proposed structure.

The management of BKLWRMC Ratnagiri has already started provisional admissions and classes for its proposed deemed university, named Shri Vithalrao Joshi Vidyapeeth, as it’s expecting the final approval from UGC within the next few days. The varsity’s course offerings are currently limited to a few new programmes including space science, natural farming with AI and darshan shastra, IKS and Sanskrit. A varsity official told Careers360 that they couldn’t add MBBS and other health science courses due to the delay in obtaining the deemed university approval.

Also read IIM Rohtak raised MBA fees without preparing budget; income grew 299%, too high for non-profit: CAG report

“We were planning to write to the regulatory authorities for the respective health science programmes for the inclusion of these courses to the deemed university as soon as we get the approval. However, we are still awaiting the final nod. The medical college may now be moved to the new university next year,” said the official.

“The deemed university will have NEP-aligned programmes with multiple entry and exit options. We are also offering unique, practical-oriented courses”, said Pranjal Malekar, the hospital coordinator at BKLWRMC Ratnagiri.

Medical Colleges: The deemed-university dodge

The deemed university status offers the maximum autonomy to colleges, as it frees them from most of the state statutes and grants broad powers related to course design, staff recruitment and fee and admission policies. Recently, the medical colleges’ ability to become deemed universities – and charge exorbitant fees – became a source of contention in Tamil Nadu. After four private medical colleges in the state got the deemed tag, the Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University moved the Madras High Court, challenging the UGC regulation that doesn't require express consent from the affiliating university before accepting the colleges’ applications.

While the colleges are lining up to break free from the state’s agencies and university, activists rue its implications for marginalised students.

Also read Assam’s State Higher Education Council: Facilitator or another bureaucratic layer, ask academics

“This is very sad news for children from low-income families in Maharashtra. With the colleges getting themselves converted to private or deemed universities, the students from backward categories won’t get any scholarship or fee benefit. The Maharashtra government is crushing the dreams of children from poor families to become MBBS doctors,” said Muzaffar Khan, a Thane-based career counsellor.

Abdurrehman Khan, a medical student and activist from Mumbai, echoed these sentiments. “If this continues, one by one, all colleges will eventually be converted to PVT LTD status,” he said. “The colleges will receive money immediately at the time of admission and the government will no longer have to bear the burden of scholarships, but ultimately, the students will suffer. Even students who score good marks may not be able to get admission to these colleges because of the high fees. This is the failure of the state government and the beginning of a new era of privatisation."