Maharshtra: BMC runs colleges, a choice preference of toppers

Mumbai: Directorate of Medical Education and Research data has made a revelation about medical aspirants preferring Bombay Municipal run colleges to those run by state government, despite their low brand value among people. It is observed that 80% of the top 100 CET rank holders have chosen civic run medical colleges in the past few years.

The most popular civic run college hospital GS Medical college attached to KEM Hospital continues to be the first preference among students with 58 students of the 100 rank holders choosing it for admissions this year. However, the number is lower that 72 that the college witnessed for admission in 2012.Close at its heels comes the TN Medical College that has seen 15 admissions this year.

According to parents and students GS Medical college is a college of choice because the standard that it has maintained through the years, giving it its brand image. There are other reasons in addition to this that make it the most sought after civic run hospital as against the state colleges. Transferable jobs at state run colleges which lead to doctors feeling insecure is a big reason for civic run hospitals being preferred.

"BMC hospitals do not have transferable jobs. The best doctors in the state would choose to work in KEM, Sion or Nair rather than Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in interior Maharashtra. In government hospitals, doctors are given transferable jobs, and therefore they lack stability,", Director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER),Pravin Shingare, told TOI

Faculty positions lie vacant more frequently in government run colleges than civic. It has been observed that Government hospital doctors prefer a shift to BMC hospitals as and when opportunity arises.

"Doctors in Mumbai are not only exposed to voluminous medical cases but there is also a variety in the cases. Exposure to various platforms through international conferences is also an advantage for doctors in cities. There is scope for development. All these reasons give them an edge over other state-run colleges," Shingare added .

Parents also expressed a feeling of security that their wards felt at civic run hospitals quite on similar lines to that at their junior colleges. "It seems to be the continuation of their school life. It appears to be under closed supervision. We get inputs from known those who have already graduated. They speak about good teaching culture in civic-run hospitals, and also about the shortage of faculty in government colleges," said Rawoot.

With an additional civic run college joining the force, the distribution of toppers in colleges has gone up too.

Grant Medical College, the largest state run college seems to be falling behind as not many toppers have sought admission to it.

"While filling preferences, Grant Medical College remains one of the top five choices of students. It is a sought-after college for students coming from outside Maharashtra. Infrastructure wise too, Grant Medical College is on a par with civic-run hospitals. But the study culture at GS Medical College (GSMC) is different from others. The success rate of students from GSMC in MD in the first attempt is usually very high," said Chief Advisor, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD),Sagar Mundada,

According to a professor at Grant Medical College, choosing medical colleges is somewhat a traditional exercise; students pick what their seniors did.

Dr Avinash Supe, Dean, KEM Hospital, on the other hand observed that the chaotic admission scene might have also led to students choosing institutions nearer home. ‘Many of these students then come to our college for post-graduation,’ he added.

He explained it to be the reason for state government colleges in Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad becoming popular among students. According to him students have started considering the college's proximity to home and hostel facilities, among other reasons for choosing them.

"Students from Vidarbha region would choose GMC Nagpur over other colleges. The ones in Aurangabad prefer the college in their home district despite having a choice added the Dean, KEM Hospital.

College connectivity and accommodation facility were two other reasons cited by Shingare for college preference by topper students. According to him parents had while filling preferences chosen Nair hospital to sion due to better hostel accommodation, citing Sion to be close to Dharavi slum and the reason for rejection. According to them Nair Hospital was also well connected by road and rail services.

"While filling their preferences, parents have mentioned how they preferred Nair Hospital to Sion these days due to better hostel facility. Sion Hospital's hostel is close to Dharavi slums, they say. Nair Hospital is also well connected by road and rail services, which is an added advantage for many," added Shingare.