Hyderabad, Aug. 15 -- Private medical colleges in Telangana can charge MBBS students tuition only for the four-and-a-half-year academic course and not for the compulsory one-year internship that follows, the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) has clarified.

The committee also put colleges on notice over a second complaint, that some institutions were collecting money from students in the name of stipends without actually disbursing it. TAFRC said such practices, if found to be true, would be treated seriously and could invite strict action.

TAFRC's clarification follows representations from students and parents alleging that certain private colleges were demanding fees for all five years of the MBBS programme, trea...