A second-year MBBS student at the AMC-run NHL Medical College suffered minor injuries after a ceiling fan fell on her in the library. Students question Rs 8.3 lakh fee for studying in crumbling building.
The student was studying for her upcoming Gujarat University exams when the fan suddenly crashed down, hitting her on the forehead.
The incident has shocked many students and raised serious concerns about poor infrastructure at self-financed colleges, where students pay high fees but often face unsafe and outdated facilities.
According to a media report, “She’s lucky it was just a minor injury to her forehead. What if she had suffered a serious head injury? Students go to the library to study, not to end up in the casualty ward,” said an agitated student, demanding accountability for the accident.
As per the Fee Regulatory Committee for Medical Courses, the annual fee at NHL Medical College is ₹8.3 lakh. Students on government seats pay around ₹33 lakh for the full four-year MBBS course. Those on management seats pay ₹25.63 lakh per year, which adds up to a massive ₹1.02 crore for the entire course.
Students claim that the problem isn’t limited to the library — the whole building is in poor condition. To avoid accidents, the college has tied green cloth to the ceilings as a temporary safety net to catch falling debris before it hits anyone.
“We’ve been raising concerns about the dilapidated condition of the building and the risks it poses,” said another student. “But all we get is temporary fixes. What we need is a permanent solution.”
Dean of the college, Dr Cherry Shah, confirmed the incident but said the student’s injury was not serious. “Our building is 63 years old and understandably not in the best shape. We have already begun efforts to assess and repair the structure. We conduct daily inspections of vulnerable areas, but the building is so old that something or the other still ends up falling,”.