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Karam Prakash
Tribune News Service
Patiala, March 26
After the Medical Council of India (MCI) pointed out shortcomings, mainly faculty shortage, in two government medical colleges, the state may lose 100 more MBBS seats in the upcoming session. In the, recently released College Assessment Report, the MCI has observed that there is a shortage of faculty in government colleges in Patiala and Amritsar, one of basic requirements for the renewal of increased MBBS seats.
Seats in both these colleges were increased from 150 to 200 from 2014-15 onwards. The said observance was made after the MCI inspection in February.
With the upcoming medical college in Mohali failing to take off and Chintpurni and Gian Sagar colleges lying shut, crisis in the medical education set to deepen with the reduction of another 100 seats.
As per the report, the two above mentioned Patiala and Amritsar colleges are facing 23 and 16 per cent faculty shortage, respectively.
The MCI has sought an explanation and measures taken by the colleges to fix these anomalies. If the colleges failed to comply with the norms, the MCI will recommend cancellation of their increased seats. On February 5, the board of governors, appointed by the Union government, notified that if any college found to be having more than 10 per cent faculty shortage after the final inspection, it will not be considered for the letter of permission/renewal in that academic year.
Sujata Sharma, Principal, GMC, Amritsar, said, “The MCI had asked for an explanation over staff shortage. We have already sent our reply. On the day of inspection, our faculty was in Chandigarh due to some reason.”
What the norms say?
After an increase in MBBS seats in a college, the MCI carries out an annual inspection for the next five years till the first batch with increased seats passes out. This exercise by the MCI is done to make sure that the said colleges are equipped in every aspect to justify higher intake.
Setback for aspirants
Medical aspirants in the state will have to be content with fewer seats in the coming session if GMC Amritsar and Patiala lose 50 seats each. With just 1,125 seats in eight colleges, Punjab is already plagued by a dearth of MBBS seats.
No new govt college since 1973
No new government medical college has been set up in the state since 1973 when Faridkot college was started. Though the Congress government had promised to set up three new colleges, the way things are going, more MBBS seats in the state seem a distant reality.
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