Synod Churches of North India oppose MCI notice for central counselling

Dimapur: The churches and congregations of North India have been requested by the Synod of the Church of North India to pray for the Supreme Court hearing on 20^th April to ‘uphold the rights of minorities as per the Constitution of India.’ The synod is referring to the March 10, 2017 notification of the Medical Council of India that allegedly takes away the rights of three medical colleges to admit students to their institutions. The education regulator’s notification in the Official Gazette, notifies medical colleges, that there will be central counselling by the state medical councils.

The press release issued by the organization on Saturday, April 15 stated that both Christian Medical College, Ludhiana and Vellore and St John’s Medical College, Bangalore were set up to train doctors, who after graduating from these institutions were supposed to serve the poor in over 1300 Christian mission hospitals in the remote areas of the country.

The release revealed that students admitted into these medical colleges are sponsored by various sponsoring agencies and churches having hospitals across the country ,that cater to the marginalized and resource poor people in remote areas. “These students when they pass out as doctors go and work in the sponsoring agencies, hospitals for a minimum of two years after their MBBS degree or a minimum of three years after their MD degree.” The release further added. This way the hospitals have a continuous inflow of doctors to their institutions.

Speaking about the MCI’s decision of Central counselling by the state medical councils the release observed that “This means that the state medical councils will assign students to study in particular medical colleges. The state medical councils will send students to the various medical colleges, including the CMCs and St. John’s medical college, who will have to be admitted into these institutions. This notification, effectively takes away the rights of these 3 medical colleges mentioned above, to admit students into their institutions

“By this gazette notification of the MCI, minority rights guaranteed under the constitution and the various judgements already passed by the Supreme Court of India have been violated. CMC, Ludhiana has challenged this notification and a state government notification and the same is coming up for hearing today and substantively on the 20th of April.”

The forum has requested to keep the matter in prayer in all the churches.

“On Easter Sunday, kindly make this announcement in your respective churches. Ask your congregations to uphold this matter in prayer. On the 20th of April request all the members of your congregations to pray, that the respected judges of the Supreme Court of India, will uphold the rights of Minority institutions to establish and administer their own educational institutions as per the Constitution of India,” the press release stated, reports Eastern Mirror.

“Further pray that the gazette notification is struck down as ultra vires (against) the Constitution of India and that our medical colleges of CMC, Ludhiana, Vellore and St. John’s Medical College Bangalore, may be allowed to carry on their admission process as before.”

The press release was appended by Alwan Masih, General Secretary of the Synod of the Church of North India.