The Hindu
BANGALORE, Oct 2: An eleventh hour “communication” from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has put nearly 250 medical students in a quandary, including 92 who have been allotted seats by the Karnataka Examinations Authority through the Common Entrance Test.
On September 30 — the last day for finalising medical admissions — the Kasturba Medical College in Mangalore and Manipal received communication from the Ministry asking them to reduce their intake by 100 and 150 respectively, effectively reducing their strength by half.
The Kasturba Medical College had completed its admission rounds by June 18, until which time no orders had been received. “Medical Council of India, which is a recommendatory body, may have given its suggestion. But we had no government order asking us to stop or curtail admissions. Now where will we send these students?” asked Anand Sundarshan, CEO of MAHE (Manipal Academy of Higher Education), while addressing presspersons here on Wednesday.
However, sources in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare told The Hindu the two colleges had been warned earlier but had decided to go ahead with the admission process.
“We are not looking into the nitty-gritty but this order should not come as a surprise to them. It is unlikely that the order will be revoked, and if they do not comply by the next academic year, the colleges will again be derecognised,” the official said.
The first time
It was in 2004 that the Medical Council of India first recommended derecognition. The Directorate of Medical Education confirmed it had received orders regarding the derecognition on June 25, 2008, but the government quota seats had already been allotted by then.
However, no amends were made in the subsequent casual vacancy rounds. Subsequently, the Union Ministry granted recognition to batches passing out on or before 2008, which was later extended to 2013.
In September this year, the State Department of Medical Education also wrote to the Union Ministry asking it to keep in mind the interests of the students — both current as well as past batches — before taking a final decision on the derecognition.
The KMC has also written to the Union Ministry requesting it to reconsider its order.
“We spoke to the State Medical Education Minister who has assured us of his support. This matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible,” H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor of Manipal University, told The Hindu. While the Karnataka Examinations Authority has not been informed of the imbroglio, sources in the State Department of Medical Education maintain that this will not affect the students and their future.
Contentious issues
The tug of war between the MCI and the 55-year-old KMC is longstanding and complicated.
While the college has also been pulled up for shortage of staff and clinical facilities, its Melaka campus, which offers a five-year twinning programme in medicine between Malaysia and India, is a bone of contention.
Also, the fact that both the KMCs do not have their own hospitals and use the local government hospitals has been another contentious issue with the MCI.