After a long legal battle, 141 MBBS final-year students of Chintpurni Medical College, Pathankot, will finally be adjusted in other state medical colleges from Monday.
The private college had been debarred from admitting students from the 2012-13 batch after the Medical Council of India (MCI) had pointed out deficiencies in its functioning. The students have since been demanding that they be shifted to other colleges.
Disclosing the move, Raj Bahadur, vice-chancellor, Baba Farid University of Medical Sciences, Faridkot, said, “These students had been equally distributed among the three government medical colleges of Patiala, Amritsar and Faridkot besides six private colleges in the state, the list of which is likely to be uploaded after a meeting with all college principals in Chandigarh on Monday.”
The six private colleges are Dayanand Medical College, Ludhiana; Christian Medical College, Ludhiana; Sri Guru Ram Dass Institute of Medical Science and Research, Amritsar; Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences, Jalandhar; Gian Sagar Medical College, Banur; and Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, Bathinda.
He said the students had been assigned colleges randomly at the level of medical education and research director Dr Manjit Kaur Mohi. He said the final-year MBBS students would take the examination in their new colleges, followed by the mandatory internship.
When asked if students needed to submit fresh fees in the respective colleges, Dr Mohi said the department was yet to take it up with the MCI. “Our priority is to adjust the students comfortably as directed by the Punjab and Haryana high court, she said.
Meanwhile, students and parents are a relieved lot. Shekhar Gupta, father of one of the petitioners Rithima Gupta, said it is sad that both the state government and MCI took more than 18 months to resolve the issue, not realising the trauma their wards had undergone.
In 2014, the first batch of students who had joined the Chintpurni college in 2011 began their protest demanding that the state government shift them to other medical colleges since the college was debarred from admitting students from the 2012-13 batch. The college could not admit students even in the 2013-14 and 2015-16 batches.
The high court on September 16, 2014 gave the state government three months to shift the students, but the state government and MCI did not take a decision.
In January this year, the high court slapped a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the MCI while hearing the contempt petition filed by the students.
The Supreme Court declined to interfere in the matter when the MCI filed a special leave petition against the high court directions earlier this month and directed it to comply with the high court orders within a week. Last week, the Union ministry of health and family welfare told the Punjab medical education and research department to shift the students.
Decision on next admission only after MCI report
When asked about admission for the next session at the Chintpurni college, medical education secretary Hussan Lal said the department was awaiting the MCI’s inspection report, and in case it debarred the college from admitting students, there would be no counselling for the college in the next session. The MCI’s report is expected soon, he added.
