The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Move to get back cancelled medical seats

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Sunday, Aug 01, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Move to get back cancelled medical seats

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, JULY 31. The Government will recruit teaching staff for 300 posts in various Government medical and dental colleges to partly fulfil the Medical Council of India (MCI) conditions for restoring the 260 cancelled medical and dental seats.

The Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, formally gave the approval to the 300 posts on a regular basis following a meeting with the Union Minister of State for Health, Panabaka Laxmi, the Agriculture Minister, N. Raghuveera Reddy, the Anantapur MP, A. Venkatram Reddy, and officials at the Secretariat on Saturday.

Ms. Laxmi and the Minister told reporters that the recruitment in respect of dental colleges was notified five days ago but two separate notifications for Anantapur Government medical college and other Government medical colleges in the State would be given on Monday.

The situation at the Anantapur college was very bad as there were 99 vacancies out of 169 sanctioned teaching posts. Though junior doctors and medicos had called off their strike elsewhere, students at Anantapur continued the stir.

Poor conditions

They said the students of Anantapur were anguished at the derecognition of their college by the MCI on grounds of inadequate staff and poor facilities. The permission for all the hundred seats in the first year of MBBS at this college were denied while the fate of the final year students hung in balance. The seats denied permission in the first year at other colleges include Sri Venkateswara Medical College, Tirupati (50), Kurnool Medical College (20), Kakatiya Medical College, Warangal (50), and Vijayawada dental college (40).

MCI conditions

Having taken steps to fill the vacancies, the Government would give administrative sanction for construction of buildings and other facilities at the colleges on Monday or Tuesday to fulfil all the conditions of the MCI. The Government would rectify the deficiencies pointed out by the MCI within three months and get back the permission for all the 260 seats and recognition for Anantapur college within this academic year, Mr. Reddy said.

The Minister charged the TDP Government with flouting rules, manipulations and influencing the MCI in running the affairs of medical and dental colleges in the State.

A delegation of 35 MPs from the State, except anybody from the TDP, apprised the Prime Minister about the functioning of the medical colleges on July 23.

The Chief Minister himself had contacted the Union Minister for Health, A. Ramdoss, and was in touch with the Prime Minister's office while Ms. Laxmi held a meeting with MCI brass to set things right.

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