Give Our Original Certificates Back: MBBS students tell Chintpurni Medical College

Patiala: Even with its shutter down, Chintpurni Medical College has once again become the talking point as the 249 MBBS students, who were shifted from the medical college to various other Government Medical Colleges in the state, after its closure. The medicos are still hustling to get their original documents from their previous college.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported about the shutdown of the Chintpurni Medical College after it was found that the college was admitting students without the Medical Council of India's (MCI) approval ever since its inception in 2011. In addition, the college did not have the necessary infrastructure and did not provide adequate facilities for the purpose of medical studies.

Read Also: Chintpurni Medical College finally closes its doors

The said issue was also brought before the High Court's notice, subsequent to which the HC Bench stated that 'the state and respondents were mandated to follow the law and to make arrangements to shift the petitioners to other medical colleges as per the procedure laid down by the Medical Council of India (MCI).'

Accordingly, the MBBS students of batches belonging to 2014 and 2016 were shifted to three government medical colleges in Amritsar, Patiala and Faridkot.

Read Also: MCI, health Ministry finally give nod to Chintpurni Medical College student shift

However, the college administration has not returned the original certificates back to its former MBBS students even after its closure last year, according to a recent report by Tribune.

Speaking to the daily, the MBBS students alleged that their detailed marks certificates of first and second year and Class X and XII were still lying with the college since their admission.

Moreover, the college authorities were demanding hostel and mess charges for the session 2017-2018 first . "How can we pay for the time we didn't stay there? The college was shut in November 2017 after Punjab withdrew its essentiality certificate," the MBBS students added.

Another medical student informed Tribune, "As per the rules, the college authorities have to return certificates within two to three months after the session begins. We need our certificates since we have to apply to other institutions for other courses."

When contacted, Dr RPS Boparai, Principal, Chintpurni Medical College, to comment on the matter as to why the college administration is not returning back the MBBS students their documents, he said, "There are some dues left which students have to pay to get their certificates. Some of the students have already paid and got their certificates back."

The move seems to be contrary to the state government's policy as in the year 2016, the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Punjab, had stated that medical institutions in the state had no legal right to keep the original certificates of students with them.

Sushil Goyal, President of Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) Parents' Welfare Association, said, "No educational institution has the right to keep the original certificates of students with them. We have written to the DMER and the Health Secretary about the matter."

Recently, the college got itself shown up in a fee cheque bounce case in which the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted respite to the parent of an MBBS student, who filed a petition against the college after the medical college demanded medical course fee even when the student was shifted to another college, on top, after its shutdown.

Quintessentially, it was obscured within the petition that to pay the fee to one medical college after the MBBS student was shifted to another is basically absurd.

Read Also: Fee Cheque Bounce: HC Relief to MBBS Students Parents against Chintpurni Medical College