MCI threatens derecognization of 11 medical colleges

[Himadri Roy]

On Saturday, the Medical Council of India issued showcause notices to the college authorities, threatening them with de-recognition for failing to adhere to MCI norms despite repeated warnings. These 11 colleges, which have two months to rectify their shortcoming or else get de-recognised, have among them over 1,300 MBBS seats.
The list of colleges under fire include GSVM Medical College (Kanpur), SN Medical College (Agra), MLN Medical College (Allahabad), LLRM Medical College (Meerut), J N Medical College (Aligarh), Guru Gobind Singh Medical College (Faridkot), Maharashtra Institute of Medical Sciences (Latur), BM Patil Medical College (Bijapur) and Vinayaka Missions Medical College Hospital (Pondicherry).

MCI president Dr Ketan Desai said, "It is true that these colleges are facing de-recognition. When we carried out inspections, several deficiencies were noticed in these colleges in terms of teaching staff, number of resident doctors, patient load of the resident hospital and infrastructure." Dr Desai said once medical colleges get recognition, they are reviewed by MCI every five years on whether the colleges are maintaining standards as stipulated by the MCI and upgrading their facilities. If found lacking, the colleges are given a maximum of two years to rectify the shortcomings. A final showcause notice is issued when colleges don't adhere to the norms even at the end of the two years.

[ARVIND MATHUR]

This truly is sad state of affiars for a college which at one time was in the first ten of the country-our Alma Mater !
Whats surprising that Jhansi and Gorakhpur (no offense made) are not in the list but LLRMMC figures in this list as it probably should be seen everywhere (not in such list!).
I think it is really is an emergency situation and though it is purely a governmental affiar, it is prudent that our Triple Aces (Atul, Anil and Ambreesh) meet with the principal Dr Mittal and offer support. At least a dialogue could be initiated to understand if we or entire Alumini could pull together the efforts to take the college out of this rut.
I am certainly pained to read the newsitem and wish that every efforts should be made to support current administration to avoid such a situation.
I would not be too enthusiastic to host the celebrations when 'derecognition' of the college is round the corner.
Hope '1985-Always High' motto motivates one and all to make it 'really high' celebrations once we are able to steer the institution out of such messy situation.
I call upon everyone to really mobilze every contact and/or resources to bring the glory back to our own Alma Mater.
Hope we shall have the newsitem soon that Lalaramites supported the efforts and rectifications and needful was done.
Let us pray, wish and hope for the very best.
Arvind

[Himadri Roy]

Rs 25-30 lakhs (the proposed OSA budget) could perhaps be helpful in getting our college out of rut...... Not sure though. There are 5 U.P govt. colleges in the list of 11. Just reflects on the type of government & the type of politics we have in U.P. Any decent person with an unbiased mind can see and understand the malaise that afflicts our society. Also not sure whether or how much the LLRMC alumni cares for their alma mater. If we really do care then this is the time to act rather than ' ye sab chalta hi rehta hai...& what can we do about it attitude'

[ARVIND MATHUR]

Dear Himadri,
I know that it is not alone a matter of resources but 'governance' and no wonder the plight and status of UP governance is known to everyone.
A 1500-2000 Crores of public money can be wasted on the statues and parks but a few lakhs/crores of rupees could not be made available to maintain and sustain medical colleges which are responsible for creating doctors and nurses for the society. On top of that there would be hue and cry every now and then by media about the quality of the doctors.
My only purpose of making Alumini aware is to mobilize the 'Voice' and show our 'concern'. Let adminstration also feel that there are people who are watching and it is not a matter which should pass by with 'Chalta Hein' attitude.
Therefore I actually called upon a few of collegues and juniors also to take up the challenge, demonstrate the leadership and make everyone aware so that appropriate actions could be taken up.
The matter of OSA celebrations and utilizing the funds appropriately was a personal reflection of agony that I experienced on reading the news item.
It is time to put our minds and might together and assist current management and administration to be able to address the challenge effectively and efficiently and get our Alma Mater out of the mess.
I strongly feel, one of the three/four Aces should meet up with Dr Mittal to assure that 85 batch would do its best to support strengthening of the college. If there are things that needs to be done on prioirty basis concerning Labs, Library or such related issues, it may be easy to muster support. If the major concerns are related to Faculty position, certainly we can do little to offer. We actually somehow need to know the whole story to be able to do something concretely.
Let us hope for the very best and I am sure that several hundred of well placed seniors, peers and juniors would be equally or more concerned by reading the newspaper item and would do their best for Alma Mater.
Let us continue dialogue on this.
Cheers and ciao
Arvind

[Sadhu]

Dear Arvind Boss & Himadri Boss,
It is great to see the feelings you have for our alma mater, but I believe this mess our college is in has been building up over the years. From time to time I have been enquiring from the few of my friends still in Meerut about LLRM & all the time I have been getting only one answer --- Yaar, LLRM khatam ho raha hai. Most prominent reason being the lack of faculty. Most of the deptts are being run by 1 or 2 teachers. Add to it the lack of upgradation & maintenance of existing (what was existing during our time) facilities & you start getting the picture. Or maybe, you might still not have got it since you have been living out of the country for a long time now. Boss, UP ka bura haal hai, LLRM included. The very fact that 5 med colleges from the state are facing de-recognition tells the story. The alimni can do only as much & not any more since recruiting faculty is a govt prerogative. I have one suggestion though. Some of us can volunteer to join on a contractual basis to fill up the numbers till the regular vacancies are filled up.

[Himadri Roy]

Dear Sadhu,
Although I have been out of country for a long time, I think I understand the problems in India in general and U.P in particular and mentioned some of them in my earlier post. I have been following and observing the changes in our country over the last few decades. I am more than willing to do whatever I can do to help. But one big problem in India has been bureaucracy/redtape and problems in finding and meeting responsible persons who will listen to you and act.

Here is another very interesting news item today ' Govt. clears 5000 PG medical seats' . Interesting thing is MCI is threatening to derecognize 11 medical colleges and their UG seats (appox. 1,500) and Govt. of India announcing 5000 new PG seats. Don't these guys have some coordination? Mortals like me don't understand the ways of these modern gods.

India will now produce 5,000 more specialized doctors every year. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved health ministry's proposal to add more postgraduate seats in 148 state government medical colleges.

The Rs 1,350 crore scheme will see a cost sharing ratio of 75:25 between the Centre and states. Though still far short of the numbers needed, the decision is being viewed as a positive step for a country that has a shortfall of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and two lakh dental surgeons.

Ironically, Indian doctors who have migrated to the developed world form nearly 5% of the medical workforce of their respective countries.

Thursday's decision will see more doctors specializing in clinical disciplines like anatomy, microbiology, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, forensic medicine and community medicine. The country will also have more gynaecologists, paediatricians and general surgeons.

But where will India find teachers to teach these extra students? Ministry officials said they have recently amended the PG regulations wherein the student teacher ratio has been revised from 1:1 to 2:1 to enable medical colleges to increase seats in PG courses.

``The ratio of number of students to postgraduate teachers like a professor in the subjects of broad specialties has been increased to 2:1 in all our 146 government medical colleges from the 2010-11 academic session. This will help create 4,000 additional seats in different PG courses. For super-specialty courses too, the ratio will become 2:1 for both professors and associate professors. This will increase availability of nearly 700 seats,'' he added.

The same rule will apply to private medical colleges from 2011-12, the official added. The teaching experience required for the post of professor/associate professor has also been reduced by one year.

At the same time, India is trying to tap into the expertise of Indian doctors settled abroad and wishing to return to the country.

The teaching experience gained by persons of Indian origin in recognized colleges from five countries — the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — is permitted to be taken into account in India, enabling such persons of Indian origin who have settled abroad to return and take up teaching assignments. ``The objective of the scheme approved by the CCEA is to meet the shortage of faculty in clinical disciplines which is a bottleneck for starting new medical colleges,'' the official said.

[Sadhu]

Hi Boss,
Great to see your concern & that you keep in touch with the goings-on in this country. In fact, I must complement you for some of the news that I come to know through you. But Boss, the thing is that the govt is confused regarding the Med Colleges & the facilities available there. Most of the time, no funds are allocated for the upkeep of facilities & if the hospital administration tries to raise funds on their own by levying a minimal charge, all sorts of self-styled leaders start a dharna & slogan shouting in the name of the common man. Besides that, whatever funds are generated, can't be spent without the consent of the local MLA/MP & you may be knowing only too well what our politicians are all about.
Anyway, we must keep trying for the betterment of our alma mater & if we can do anything to save it, nothing better. Hope for the best.