32 medical colleges might be barred from conducting admissions

The Medical Council of India (MCI) has threatened to debar 32 medical institutes across the country from admitting students as they have not followed infrastructure and teaching norms.

The colleges include the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College (Sion Hospital), a private medical college in Pune and the Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research (Talegaon).

While the news upset parents and students, officials from the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) made it clear that there was no need to worry.

“This list is released based on an inspection conducted by MCI every year, which checks the standards and regulations followed by these institutes. This recent circular is more of a notice to the institutes by MCI, asking them to rectify errors or face action,” said Dr Pravin Shingare, director, DMER.

He added that this is a routine feature and parents as well as students have nothing to worry about. “There will be a problem only if the status of these ‘errors’ pointed out by the MCI remains the same till April or May. Those institutes will not be permitted to admit students then,” he added.

Parents and students were worried that the news would make matters worse for students who are currently preparing for their Class 12 exams.

“We have been assured that these problems will be rectified before admissions begin. But, any problems will mean fewer seats for our children, which is not a good sign,” said Akshita Iyengar, parent of a medical aspirant.

In 2016, as many as 86 medical colleges were denied permission to conduct admissions owing to a lack of faculty and infrastructure.

The Supreme Court had appointed a committee to look into the irregularities and submit a report accordingly. The committee submitted its final report in August 2016, allowing 26 of these institutes to go ahead with the admission process after they were asked to submit an undertaking to MCI that they would comply with all norms and would not remain deficient when the academic session started. The move had invited criticism by experts but was implemented anyway.

Read

Young have more grasping ability: MCI to SC on age limit for NEET candidates

Nearly 4000 medical students left in lurch as 32 private colleges fail MCI test