The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Medical Council of India taken for a ride?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Medical Council of India taken for a ride?

Staff Reporter

Government doctors reportedly pose as faculty to get permission for MBBS and PG seats in some colleges

HYDERABAD: The State Government allegedly covered up a severe staff shortage in some of its medical colleges with help from the Andhra Pradesh Government Doctors' Association (APGDA) in order to get permission from Medical Council of India (MCI) for MBBS and postgraduate seats.

APGDA office-bearers here on Tuesday inadvertently revealed that the Association was "cooperating" with the Government by posing as faculty at various medical colleges during MCI inspections. This was because these colleges did not have staff strength as per MCI norms.

"In 1998-99, APGDA members were shifted and shown as faculty at Kakatiya Medical College (Warangal), S.V. Medical College (Tirupati), Rangaraya Medical College (Kakinada) and Kurnool Medical College to fulfil MCI criteria and get more MBBS and PG seats," an APGDA member said, adding that even today, APGDA was cooperating with Government during MCI visits "to protect the seats."

"Despite personal inconveniences, APGDA requested its members to cooperate with the Government for MCI visits. Some of us were called at midnight to rush to these colleges. The same doctors were shown as faculty in all four places," he said.

Severe staff shortage

These colleges, he said, had a 50 per cent staff shortage for non-clinical subjects (anatomy, physiology, forensic medicine etc) and a 30 per cent shortage for clinical subjects (medicine, psychiatry, paediatrics etc).

The reason for the step by the Government, one APGDA office-bearer said, was the mismatch between the State and MCI systems. "With mushrooming of private medical colleges, Supreme Court fixed guidelines and gave more powers to MCI as a result of which it came out with strict regulations in 1998. The Government, in order to meet these guidelines, will have to revamp its 30-year-old system. That is why we have to do such things," he said, adding that if MCI visited medical colleges here simultaneously, at least 50 per cent of MBBS seats would be lost due to staff shortage. The APGDA made the revelations during its attempt to counter accusations by the striking medical students.

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