Medical colleges report card to be announced

PUDUCHERRY: The outcome of a compliance inspection at the Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Research Institute at Kadirgamam is expected to be known by June 15. A three-member team from the Medical Council of India (MCI) began its inspection on Wednesday and went around the college to check whether the conditions were suitable for admitting the second batch of students.The assessment team comprises Dr Neena Rungta, team coordinator and Professor of anesthesiology at SMS Medical College in Jaipur, and assessors Dr Dalbir Singh, Professor of forensic medicine, PGI, Chandigarh, and Dr Sivakumar, Professor of Ophthalmology at Bangalore Medical College. While Dr Rungta went around the hospital, the other two assessors observed the college at large.The inspection team had come to reassess the college after the MCI turned down the approval in its first inspection. The hospital administration, on its part, is keeping its fingers crossed. Only some minor matters were pointed out during the discussion the MCI team had with the college administration. The library drew the MCI team’s attention as the scaffolding was yet to be removed, though the work has been completed. The only pending work was to clean up the area and put library materials in place. The furniture in the non-clinical departments and laboratories were judged as inadequate. The paraclinical departments of social and preventive medicine, microbiology, anatomy and pathology were all accommodated in one big room. More furniture and faculty would be required with each department having a place of its own, the assessors noted. The team also insisted on a walk-in cooler at the blood bank and microbiology laboratory, which would cost Rs 17 to 18 lakh. The college administration was also advised to fill vacancies of teachers.If the college gets approval, it will help avoid the complications associated with the Centralised Admission Committee (CENTAC). It will provide 105 seats for students in the Union Territory, 23 seats for Government of India and 22 seats for non-resident Indians (NRIs). Now, the administration should think of long-term solutions by appointing regular faculty in place of those serving on contract basis. Appointing faculty has not been easy as the salary structure in self-financing colleges is stated to be higher when compared to the government medical college, which has it on a par with JIPMER. The engineering cell and contractors also need to be proactive in completing works assigned to them.Though funds have been a major constraint, a good amount of it could be mobilised through the NRI quota. Last year, the admissions in NRI quota was not good as only two of the 22 seats were filled. The reason for this was that permission to admit students came late and a high fee of Rs 75 lakh per seat was fixed. The government should think in terms of making the fee competitive so as to attract more students and use the funds to become self-reliant. It could also approach funding agencies for loans in order to speed things up.