During the last few days the media has been abuzz with the issue of capitation fee levied in the country’s medical colleges and the outrage over the same had marred proceedings yesterday in both houses of Parliament. The issue or non – issue as I see it, was originally raked up by the “Times Of India – Times Now” expose which revealed that private medical colleges in Tamil Nadu were demanding and collecting between fifteen lakhs to forty lakhs of rupees for a seat in the M.B.B.S course and between rupees one crore and two crores for a post graduate seat.

While I agree that such capitation fee being collected by the management of these private medical colleges is something despicable and goes against the very grain of the principle of education for all, it is not something new. Such capitation fees have been in existence for quite some time now and everyone including the public merely turned a blind eye to it. In fact, the media too was aware of it but did not bother to expose it for it has become a part and parcel of life.

In fact, similar capitation fees are being collected in other professional colleges as well. Whether it is an Engineering or a Management degree it has become quite common for private colleges to charge hefty fees and donations for admission into the same. This phenomenon is not purely the outcome of the liberalization of education in India. Even before the advent of private professional colleges, Medical colleges and Engineering college seats used to be sold in the market by corrupt politicians who gave the lame excuse of collecting such bribes to fund their parties and their electoral campaigns.

The truth is, this phenomenon is not only found in professional colleges but is found in all walks of life. If you want to obtain a Government job you have to pay a fee in the form of a bribe. If you want a transfer or a promotion in a Government or public sector job you have to pay a fee once again in the form of a bribe for the same. It has become so common in our country. After paying for everything and anything over the years, the media has finally decided to highlight this issue; though the reason for them doing so are purely selfish – to make their newspapers sell or increase their TRP ratings.

India has become a country where you can even get away with murder if you have the resources to pay a capitation fee which is merely a euphemistic pseudonym for bribe. That is why I call this whole exercise of exposing the collection of capitation fee much ado about nothing. It is just a way for all vested interests including media and the politicians to make a noise, act concerned but do you think anything really good will come out of it?

I can assure you that it will be business as usual for these medical colleges, media and politicians within a few days. I can also assure you that next year the capitation fee will be collected as openly as it was earlier and it will be much more than the current market figures. If you were to question the managements for the sudden hike in capitation fee they would tell you that they have been constrained to increase the capitation fee since they were forced to pay huge amounts to the political big-wigs to sort out the problems caused by the ToI –Times Now expose and that they have no other alternative but to pass on the burden to the end users the students – to be read as the gullible public.

Indian society and its fatalistic attitude has reached such abysmal levels that all forms of corruption are condoned and only those who are not willing to pay such capitation fees or bribes are the ones who are considered to be making much ado about nothing.

What is really lacking in our country is political will and a social conscience. This post has not been put here to have a cynical or pessimistic view of the status quo but only to help awaken the sleeping public conscience and make them rise up in protest and bring about a change in the society.