Several “Munnabhais” became MBBS in the last couple of years, thanks to the tainted former chairman of the Medical Council of India, Ketan Desai. And it was not the individual youngster using fraudulent methods to get a seat in a medical college or to pass out with a degree. It was the institutes, in alleged connivance of Medical
Council of India’s top brass, who continued to exist despite not meeting even the basic criteria. A few of them were even allowed to introduce new courses even when they did not have senior professors to teach the students.
Sources in the CBI, the agency that is investigating the graft case involving Dr Desai, revealed that, during his regime, there were at least 15 medical colleges in the country which were granted permission to introduce new courses or continue with their existing ones without meeting even the basic criteria. And the number of students who have already taken their degree from these institutes could be in hundreds, sources in the agency said.
Sample this: A medical college in West Bengal was reportedly granted permission by the MCI to continue with the existing teaching faculty and infrastructure courses allegedly without having proper animal house in the institute for experiments. The institute only had 13 rats, seven rabbits and one sheep in its animal house for experiments. But when the MCI’s team inspected the institute on December 2, 2009, it was granted permission to continue as it is. Even the principal of the institute was not present during the inspection. In another case, a Haryana college was allegedly granted permission to introduce new courses without having adequate surgical facilities.
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New medical colleges nod by July 15
Age Correspondent
New Delhi
May 30: Centre has extended the date for giving permission to new medical colleges and renewal of recognition of existing institutions by a month.
The decision was taken after the six-member panel of doctors, that replaced the Medical Council of India, made a request in this regard. The panel had sought more time to evaluate the proposals in respect of undergraduate courses as the panel took charge only on May 24.
With this, the date for consideration of giving the letter of permission for new colleges and renewal of permission for colleges already approved has been extended from June 15 to July 15.