HC Relief to 103 PRIMS MBBS Students: Directs Govt, MCI BoG to accommodate them in other medical colleges

Chennai: Bringing relief to 103 second year MBBS students of now defunct Ponniah Ramajayam Institute of Medical Sciences (PRIMS), the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government to reveal the seat and intake details of government medical colleges. Based on the data submitted these 103 MBBS students would now be accommodated in the medical colleges of the state

The move came after the Medical Council Of India Board of Governors, told the court that they preferred that the concerned students be accommodated in government medical colleges. Directing the state to do the needful through the interim order, Justice S S Sundar has now listed the matter for November 16, 2018.

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that more than 100 first-year students of the private medical college in Kancheepuram district, which was subsequently debarred by the Health ministry from making admissions, had moved the Madras High court seeking a direction to transfer them to any other medical college.

The plea sought a direction from the court to transfer them from PRIMS, which has become defunct, to other medical colleges.

According to counsel for the students, the medical college was started from the 2016-17 academic year after obtaining approval from the state and central governments and the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The students were admitted in the first year MBBS course during 2016-17 under the government and management quota after passing the NEET.

However, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare debarred the college from making admissions for 2017-18 and 2018-19 as it had failed to rectify the 'deficiencies' pointed out by the MCI.

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The troubles of the medical college do not end there. The said medical college is going through a financial crisis and has been unable to pay a salary to the teaching and non-teaching staff for the past six months. This led to an exodus of medical faculty and other employees.

The Indian Bank in Thanjavur, to which the college management reportedly owed Rs 392 crore, was taking steps to auction its properties, both movable and immovable.The hospital attached to the college was also closed down. Petitioner students were left in the lurch and their future was bleak.

Read Also: 103 First year MBBS students of defunct private medical college move HC seeking Transfer

The New Indian Express reports that the court responding to the plea directed the State government to address MCI and the Union government to obtain necessary permission for accommodating all the 103 students in other self-financing private medical colleges and collect the statistics regarding the number of seats and other particulars about the government medical colleges, orally.

MCI/Board of Governors counsel informed the court that the board had received the representation from the Tamil Nadu government. However, the board has taken no decision so far.

The court then directed the BoG to device a draft proposal suggesting accommodation of students in government or private medical colleges, giving two weeks time to the BoG to come up with a solution so that appropriate orders could be passed by the court in the matter.

The Counsel appearing for the MCI BoG then informed the court, the BoG would prefer to suggest that the said MBBS students be accommodated only in government medical colleges as many other private institutions are also facing problems similar to that of Ponniah medical college,

"Giving respect to the submission and the stand taken by the MCI/BoGs, the State government is also directed to submit the particulars about the vacancies in its colleges and their admission capacity," the judge added and posted the matter for November 16.