Medical college in Anantnag yet to get functional

Suhail A Shah

Anantnag, October 21

With most of the staff yet to be recruited, buildings far from completion and a Medical Council of India (MCI) nod highly unlikely, the commencement of the MBBS course in 2019 at the new Anantnag Medical College in south Kashmir seems to be far-fetched.

The college, along with four others in Jammu and Kashmir, was sanctioned by the then Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in 2014.

Amid much fanfare, the foundation stone of the 100-seat college was laid by Union Health Minister JP Nadda and then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on May 15, 2016.

The MCI had communicated to the state health and medical education department that it would take stock of the situation in September this year and had sought standard declaration forms from the faculty in this regard.

Ironically, as of now the college has only two employees of the sanctioned staff of 670.

“Of the two employees, one is principal who is holding an additional charge apart from his posting at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital. The other staff member is a statistical assistant,” a source in the health education department said.

He said as the department was not ready for an MCI inspection yet, it had sought two more months for the team to arrive in the state. However, the staff recruitment by November also looks highly unlikely.

The J&K Public Service Commission (JKPSC) and the J&K Services Selection Board have been entrusted with the recruitment.

JKPSC officials said the interviews were going on to fill the slots in all medical colleges.

“We expect to fill the vacancies by mid-December,” JKPSC secretary Rajesh Sharma said.

On the other hand, the JKSSB has sought two years to complete the process.

“We had asked it to hasten the process. Let us see how things shape up,” college principal Dr Showkat Jeelani said.

While Jeelani is hopeful that the MBBS course will start in 2019 if the government takes steps on a priority basis, the odds are stacked against it due to the time-consuming process.

Another hindrance is the completion of the campus buildings. The Jammu and Kashmir Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) had been entrusted with the project.

Jeelani said the JKPCC had set a deadline of December 2020 to hand over the project.

“Repeated requests have been sent to them to complete the project ahead of the deadline. However, the pace at which the work is going on, I think it will not be completed even by the deadline,” he said.

Construction work hangs fire 

Another hindrance is the completion of the campus buildings. The J&K Projects Construction Corporation (JKPCC) had been entrusted with the project. The JKPCC had set a deadline of December 2020 to hand over the project.  “Repeated requests have been sent to them to complete the project ahead of the deadline. However, the pace at which the work is going on, I think it will not be completed even by the deadline,” the college principal said. TNS