Hitting the pockets of thousands of aspiring doctors and their families across Punjab, the fee for MBBS courses has been revised sharply upward for the current academic session, with private medical colleges seeing hikes of up to 17.4 per cent and government medical colleges recording an increase of about 8.5 per cent over the full duration of the course.The revised structure applies to a total of 1,800 MBBS seats in the state, split evenly between the government and private sectors. Punjab’s five government medical colleges together account for 900 seats, while its seven private medical institutions make up the remaining 900.The steepest impact will be felt by students entering private medical colleges. For the 50 per cent seats reserved under the government quota in these institutions, the total tuition fee for the entire course has risen by ₹3,74,000, from Rs 21,48,000 previously to Rs 25,22,000 now — an increase of 17.4 per cent.Within this, the first-year fee alone has gone up from Rs 4,06,000 to Rs 4,69,000, an upfront jump of Rs 63,000 for incoming students. The fee then rises progressively through the course, from Rs 5,16,000 in the second year to Rs 5,68,000 in the third, Rs 6,25,000 in the fourth, and Rs 3,44,000 for the concluding six-month fifth year.Far steeper still is the hike for the 35 per cent management quota seats in private colleges, where the full course fee has climbed by Rs 9,46,000 — from Rs 55,25,000 to Rs 64,71,000, a rise of 17.1 per cent.Here too, the first-year fee has jumped sharply, from Rs 10,42,000 to Rs12,06,000, an increase of Rs 1.64 lakh in a single year. The fee for subsequent years stands at Rs 13,26,000 for the second year, Rs14,59,000 for the third, Rs16,00,000 for the fourth, and Rs 8,80,000 for the final six-month year.The disparity between the two quotas within the same private institutions is stark: a student securing admission under the management quota will end up paying ₹39,49,000 more over the course of the degree than a student admitted to the same college under the government quota — a gap that has widened further with this year’s hike.Government medical colleges have been comparatively less affected, though the increase is still significant. Across the five state-run colleges, the total fee for the 5.5-year MBBS course has gone up by Rs 85,000, from Rs 9,98,000 to Rs 10,83,000, a rise of 8.5 per cent.The fee here rises by roughly 10 per cent each year, starting at Rs 2,02,000 in the first year and increasing to Rs 2,22,000 in the second, Rs 2,44,000 in the third and Rs 2,68,000 in the fourth, before the concluding six-month final year is charged at Rs 1,47,000.Officials point out that all the figures relate strictly to tuition fees. Students and parents will need to budget separately for hostel charges, security deposits, mess bills, examination fees and annual university registration charges, none of which are included in the revised tuition structure.