The Medical Council of India (MCI) has struck down the State government’s attempts to launch a new medical college at Konni in Pathanamthitta district and the ESI Medical College at Parippally in Kollam in the current academic year.
The MCI decision comes in the wake of the government’s failure to submit necessary documents sought by the council within the stipulated time schedule for starting new institutions
Though the State government asked for more time to fulfil all documentation, citing various constraints, the MCI has returned the proposals as the application cannot be kept pending for the next academic year.
Deficiencies
Meanwhile, in a major face-saver, the Union Health Ministry has given a conditional order to the State to go ahead with the MBBS admissions to its newly created Palakkad and Idukki medical colleges in the current academic year, after the MCI once again in May refused to renew permission to admit MBBS students to these colleges, citing major deficiencies.
At a meeting of its executive committee held last month, the MCI had pointed out that despite the State government’s reassurances, the Idukki government medical college still had a faculty shortage of about 75 per cent and a residents’ shortage of over 92 per cent.
The institution was short of 41 teaching beds and though the total bed strength was claimed to be 259, the actual number of beds available was only 168.
Faculty shortage
The Palakkad government medical college had a faculty shortage of 29 per cent and a residents’ shortage of 54 per cent, apart from a long list of other infrastructural deficiencies that the MCI had pointed out.
When contacted, Health Secretary K. Ellangovan said the MCI had not been convinced about the undertaking given by the State on rectifying all deficiencies, but that after appealing to the Union Health Ministry, the State had been given permission to admit students to the Palakkad and Idukki colleges, strictly on the condition that all deficiencies would be rectified in three months.
In the case of private self-financing medical colleges too, the MCI has stuck to its guns and again denied permission for renewal of MBBS admission (2015-16) – third batch, 150 seats – at the DM Wayanad Institute of Medical Sciences; second batch MBBS – 100 seats – at Mount Zion Medical College, Pathanamthitta ; second batch MBBS – 150 seats – at Al-Azhar Medical College and Super Specialty Hospital, Thodupuzha; and second batch MBBS – 150 seats — at the P.K. Das Institute of Medical Sciences, Palakkad.
Applications rejected
The MCI has also disapproved the applications submitted by three private educational trusts from the State to start new medical colleges and admit MBBS students this year.
The request of the Royal Medical Trust, Palakkad, for permission to start a new medical college with an annual intake of 150 students; the attempt of the Sreevalsam Educational Trust, Thrissur, to start a new institution at Malappuram with an annual intake of 150 MBBS students; and the SR Educational and Charitable Trust’s proposal to admit 100 MBBS students to its new medical college at Akathumuri, Varkala, have been disapproved by the MCI.
Deficiencies in Palakkad, Idukki colleges have be rectified in 3 months
Requests of three private educational trusts also denied
