Mahatma Gandhi University authorities have requested the government to direct the Kerala University of Health Sciences (KUHS) to issue equivalence certificates to students passing out of its School of Medical Education (SME) after completing nursing and paramedical courses.
A delegation led by the Vice Chancellor and comprising Syndicate members met Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday, urging him to permit the university to continue to run the courses under the SME as an affiliated institution. The students of the school have been on the warpath demanding clarity related to the affiliation and recognition of the courses. However, the Kerala University of Health and Allied Sciences Act states that the university shall affiliate all professional or medical colleges or institutions imparting education in modern medicine, dental, Ayurveda, homeopathy, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, Naturopathy, Nursing, Pharmacy and other para-medical and allied subjects. It also mentions that all such courses should be transferred to the KUHS, which will also have the powers to admit students and issue degree certificates.
The Mahatma Gandhi University authorities said that any move to de-affiliate the courses offered by the SME would be detrimental to the interests of the students and teachers. With the university owning the infrastructure and its administration, the de-affiliation of the courses would impact the prospects of the university, they said.
The students were left to suffer owing to the lack of clarity over the affiliating university. Many nursing students faced the risk of losing their jobs as the lack of equivalence certificate issued by the KUHS may land them in trouble, especially when applying for jobs abroad. The KUHS had not issued equivalence certificate for the SME’s courses since 2009, said MG university officials. But the authorities pointed out that the KUHS had agreed to recognise the courses offered by the SME till the end of this academic year.
