“We Paid for Classes That Didn’t Exist”: Inside the MBBS Fee Debate

When Sheheen Nadaf entered her internship year in Bengaluru, the transition felt less like a continuation of college and more like stepping into the real world of medicine. “There is no such thing as college fees during internship,” she says. “We had already paid our last fees. During this year, we only pay about ₹11,000 for hostel—nothing more.”

Sheheen studies at a central government institute, where the rules are relatively clear. But as she speaks, her tone shifts when the conversation turns to friends in private medical colleges. “That’s where things are different,” she explains. “Some of them are still being charged fees even during an internship. And there are hardly any checks.”

Her account echoes what many medical students across India have been quietly discussing for years—being billed for time that doesn’t resemble a classroom at all.

The National Medical Commission recently stepped in after receiving complaints from students who said they were being charged for the full span of the MBBS programme, stretching into the internship year. For many, that extra year doesn’t involve lectures, exams, or structured teaching—just long hospital shifts.

Sheheen describes those shifts without hesitation. “Internship is tough. Long working hours, sometimes toxic departments, and infrastructure issues—you deal with all of it. You’re learning, yes, but you’re also working like part of the system.”

The distinction matters. Officially, the MBBS course runs for four-and-a-half years of academic study, followed by a one-year Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship. It’s a phase meant for hands-on training, not classroom education. But for some students, the financial demands didn’t reflect that difference.

“One of my friends joked that they were paying fees to work,” Sheheen recalls. “It sounds funny, but it’s actually frustrating.”

The new directive asks colleges to charge fees only for the academic period—when teaching, faculty support, and institutional resources are actively in play. For students like Sheheen, it feels like a validation of something they already knew.

“In our case, things were fair,” she says. “But not everyone had that experience.”

As she finishes her shift and prepares for another, the conversation drifts back to the everyday reality of being an intern—rushing between wards, handling patient loads, learning on the go. The fee debate, she suggests, is just one part of a much larger picture.

“Internship is where you really become a doctor,” she says. “The least the system can do is not charge you for it.”