Misleading Information on Staff: HIMS MD Dermatology DENIED Medical Council of India Recognition

Karnataka: The Medical Council of India has refused to recognise the postgraduate course in Dermatology, Venerology and Leprosy (DVL) offered by the Hassan Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), citing a shortage of teaching staff. The council has also pointed out that HIMS misled it while furnishing information on staff. The council’s PG Medical Education Committee met in New Delhi on June 12 and took a decision of not lending credence to the courses.

Panicked with the said decision, the state government has also now written to the Medical council of India, asking the medical regulator to reconsider its decision.

The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences had consented to the grant of permission for it, initially. In 2017-18, the student intake was increased to four seats, who have now completed their courses and 8 more are still pursuing them. The council’s refusal for recognition is likely to act as a setback for them.

The decision of not giving recognition is based on the council assessor’s report and the compliance verification thereof. During the council assessor’s June 2017 visit to the college, the paucity of teaching staff was observed. The institute, however, failed to submit a compliance. Therefore the MCI declared the final outcome as dissatisfactory.

The present director of the institute Dr B.C. Ravi Kumar is also a professor of dermatology. There is no other professor in the department. “During the one-time increase in seats in 2017-18, the institute had not shown Ravi Kumar as Director. This information was concealed, which amounts to misleading the council,” the assessor’s report observed.

Recognition to PG Dermatology course was denied due to no professor appointments being there in the department. As the deficiency continued to prevail as pointed in the assessment report, recognition to the course remained an impossibility.

Furthermore, the MCI added that timely seeking of recognition was not followed, resulting in lack of compliance to instruction as per law and this it felt “shall invariably result in stoppage of admission to the PG course”. The admissions, if any, done so far was to be considered illegal and not in accordance with the law quptes Hindu.

Responding to the MCI move, Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education Department, V. Manjula, in a written communication to the Secretary, Medical Council of India on Monday clarified that Director, HIMS, B.C. Ravi Kumar, would return to the department, as a professor, after nine months.

Ms. Manjula in her letter informed that the Director’s post was time bound for a period of 4 years, and Dr. Ravi Kumar would be returning to his post as a professor after 9 months.

“As there is only one sanctioned post, another professor cannot be appointed,” she told the Hindu.

She further clarified that Dr. Ravikumar had been designated Professor, Department of Dermatology following the MCI guidelines, which clearly stated that Dean, Institute could work as a unit head, but not as not as head of the department.