Health Ministry issues Advisory for students taking admission in new medical colleges

"Let the students beware"

This seems to be the new message that the government wants to convey to medical students as the Ministry of Health and Family welfare has come out with a public notice, advising students to satisfy themselves about the facilities at the various medical colleges they are intending to join, before taking admission.

A public notice dated 29.09.2016, issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, clearly issues directions to the newly approved medical colleges to upload relevant information about their colleges on their website as well as for students to satisfy themselves about the various information before taking admission at these colleges.

The notice points out the following information

1. On the directives of the Supreme Court Mandated Oversight Committee on MCI (OC), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued Letters of Permission for establishment of new medical colleges/ increase in seats, renewal permissions, recognition, starting of super speciality courses and increase in seats in super speciality courses for 2016-17. These permissions/ recognition are subject to the condition laid-down by the Oversight Committee.

2. The Ministry had uploaded a Public Notice on 27-08-2016 directing all the approved colleges to upload on their respective website the status of compliance with MSRs in respect of faculty, infrastructure, clinical material, bed-occupancy and other requirements on 10^thSeptember, 2016 in the first instance followed by another update as on 20^thSeptember, 2016 and the status may be intimated to OC. This condition was also included was also included in the permission letters issued to the colleges subsequently.

3. On the directions of OC, the Ministry, vide e-mail letter dated 24-9-2016, directed all the concerned colleges to ensure uploading the stipulated information/ data as on 10^thSeptember, 2016 and 20^th September 2016, on the website of the respective college, immediately and latest by 5:00 PM on 26-9-2016, if not done already. It was indicated that failure to comply with this direction will automatically lead to holding conditional approval granted to the college for 2016-17, in abeyance. The letters were also uploaded on the website of the Ministry on 26-9-2016.

4. It is now directed by OC to keep in abeyance the conditional permission granted to those colleges for 2016-17 that have failed to comply with the above direction. Students desirous of taking admission in the colleges given conditional permission are advised to satisfy themselves from the respective website of the college that the college has uploaded desired information on its website and does not fall in the category of colleges that have failed to upload the information and the conditional permission is in abeyance for 2016-17 for that reason. All the State Government / Universities are also advised not to allow admissions in such Colleges which have failed to comply with the above directions of the Oversight Committee / Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.