No fee hike for medical courses amid NEET retest stress, says Medical Education Minister - The HinduPublished - June 12, 2026 10:31 pm IST - BengaluruMedical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil addresses a press conference at his residence in Kalaburagi city on April 18, 2026. File Photo | Photo Credit: ARUN KULKARNIThe Karnataka government has decided not to hike the fees for medical, dental, undergraduate, and postgraduate courses for the current academic year.Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil officially announced on Friday that there will be no fee hike for medical courses for the academic year 2026-27, after a meeting with representatives of private medical and dental college managements.Addressing a press conference on Friday, the Minister said, “Considering the stress and anxiety faced by medical seat aspirants and parents due to the re-examination of NEET, we have not accepted the proposal to increase fees proposed by private college managements.”“The same fees fixed last year will continue this year as well. This rule applies to both government and private medical colleges,” the Minister said, appealing to students and parents not to pay heed to speculation related to medical seats.Highest number of seatsDr. Patil further said Karnataka has the highest number of medical seats in the country. “With the addition of 550 MBBS seats in government medical colleges this year, the total number of seats has increased to 14,495. The number of postgraduate medical seats has also increased by 572. Earlier, it was 7,687,” he said.The increase in medical seats will also bring financial assistance of ₹1,036 crore from the Union government. The Union government has agreed to provide the funds, which will be used for infrastructure development in colleges, the Minister said.Published - June 12, 2026 10:31 pm ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }