MP: Health Ministry cracks down on private college defying MCI norms


Bhopal: A private medical college is under scrutiny for selling seats. The Health Ministry and Medical Council of India have cracked down on the People's Medical College in Madhya Pradesh. The college had illegally admitted over 240 students between 2009 and 2012, openly flouting MCI norms.
What's more is that in 2012, it had refused to admit students under merit quota, after which the state government had moved court. The Health Ministry and Medical Council of India have now stopped all admissions at the college.
"If each medical college defies the MCI and gets a stay from the courts, then only god can help," Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said. The Health Minister says medical colleges are using everything to subvert the MCI guidelines. The Health Minister was referring to specific cases where colleges have admitted students in defiance of no less then the Supreme Court and got a stay from a lower court.
"The judiciary is the custodian of the Constitution. If the MCI rejects their demand, the courts should not entertain. There are no early decisions either, so we can't challenge in the apex court," Azad said. The Health Minister was referring specifically to People's Medical College, already under the CBI net following a CNN-IBN sting operation.
Not only has the college been selling its seats, but in 2009-10, the college admitted 150 MBBS students even though permission was denied to it for want of infrastructure after as many as three inspections by the MCI and the Health Ministry and the Supreme Court had thrown the case out. The college in defiance of the SC and the Health Ministry appealed to the High Court and the court asked the MCI to pass a reasoned order on the college's appeal.
The new MCI didn't appeal to the Supreme Court, but quietly agreed to the court's diktat and regularised the 150 admissions. "If one institution defies MCI, then others say why fulfill the criteria for infrastructure, they too will get court stay," Azad said.
That's exactly what the same college did the next year, emboldened by the court's order. In 2011-12, the college admitted 95 students more than its approved capacity. The rules permitted the college to admit 150 students, including 95 from the state quota. When the state government protested, the college admitted the 95 students as well but did not discharge students admitted through the management quota.
The Madhya Pradesh government wrote to the college and also alerted the MCI. The MCI duly wrote to the college, the college got a court stay and the MCI did not take action against the college.
People's Medical College did not respond to a CNN-IBN questionnaire. The MCI in its defence says it can do little as the college has gone to court, but is silent on why it has not appealed against the court's orders.
If the decision of the college to admit students illegally is challenged in court, then all 150 third year MBBS students and 95 second year students will have to be discharged from college for illegal admissions. The board of governors was formed superseding the MCI on grounds of allegations of corruption. Now, these new revelations show that the new avatar of the MCI is proving to be worse than the cure itself.

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