Former MP S. Ramadass has urged the Union Health Ministry to increase the MBBS seats at Jipmer to 250 from this year and to commission a second Medical college of Jipmer at Karaikal next year.
In a memorandum to J.P. Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Mr. Ramadass pointed out that the current intake in MBBS in the institution is only 150 seats, a number far surpassed by the demand.
The increasing demand is evidenced by the growing number of applications received every year.
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It is reported that against 93,000 candidates applied last year (2014-15) the number has swelled to about 1,37,435 in 2015-16, a number that is unprecedented in the annals of Jipmer as well as other Institutions of national importance. Regarding Puducherry, the first choice of brilliant students is Jipmer although there are eight medical colleges including one Government College here.
For students, Jipmer accorded them national recognition and reputation and future education and jobs. But unfortunately most of the 40 seats earmarked for Puducherry students are snatched away by the wards of Central Government employees who work in Puducherry for a year or two.
“The brilliant but poor students born, brought up and educated in Puducherry scarcely secure seats in Jipmer which is defeating the real intention of reservation to the students of Puducherry which has lagged behind many States of India in higher education including medical education for several decades,” Mr. Ramadass said.
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Advocating a strategy of increasing the present intake to 250 seats as had been done by the MCI for medical colleges such as the Madras Medical College and Stanley Medical College to generate more medical manpower to achieve the Health For All goal, Mr. Ramadass pointed out that Jipmer had increased the intake in PG courses from 84 to 200 — an unusual case of PG seats outnumbering MBBS seats.
As the Institute need not approach MCI for permission to increase the seats , Mr. Ramadass urged the Minister to issue guidelines to enable the Standing Academic Committee of Jipmer, which is scheduled to meet on July 3 to take a decision on increasing the issue.
Since classes will commence only on August 1, 2015 there is adequate time to admit the additional students.
Directing his appeal also to the Rajya Sabha member of Puducherry and other 14 members of the Jipmer Standing Academic committee, Mr. Ramadass said a higher intake would result in increasing the number of students from Puducherry gaining admission from 40 to 70 this year.
He also appealed for commissioning a second Medical college of Jipmer at Karaikal, which was the second largest region of the Union Territory next year in collaboration with the Government of Puducherry.
Growing number
of applications
every year evidence
of increasing
demand