Can money replace merit in medical education?
Punjab health minister Brahm Mohindra, for reasons best known to him, has defended and justified the decision to scrap government quota in two private medical colleges of the state, besides allowing them to unilaterally increase the tuition fee. This is outrageous and will subvert the foundations of medical education in Punjab.
Given its inherent flaws, Mohindra’s carte blanche may not stand judicial scrutiny if someone takes the legal recourse. It will not only compromise merit in medical admissions but will also prove detrimental to ensuring quality medical education and eventually lead to poor health services.
The decision will now allow the two privately-run Guru Ram Dass Medical College in Amritsar and Adesh Medical University in Bathinda to set their own terms and conditions for admitting students. Less meritorious, rather undeserving candidates, but with heavier moneybags will naturally get preference over the meritorious ones. In other words, less resourceful candidates and those with no resources will be left out of the race for admission to both colleges. That also means that admissions will depend on how deep the candidates’ pockets to fill the managements’ coffers are than on merit. This will undermine the quality of medical education and services that the state is striving to achieve.
Mohindra’s decision will set a wrong precedent for other private medical colleges such as Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana. They can also straightway refuse the government quota for admitting students to MBBS and MS/MD courses. This will have a cascading effect on other institutions and the government will have no justification in adopting two yardsticks. Eventually, meritorious students will have nowhere to go and they will be made to suffer.
MAKING ENOUGH MONEY ALREADY
The health minister’s justification that medical colleges have to be made financially viable lacks reason and logic. It simply cannot be done at the cost of merit and meritorious students. In order to ensure their financial viability, these colleges have already been allowed 50% management quota, which includes 15% non-resident Indians (NRI) quota. It is no secret that the managements of these institutions make enough money through the already allotted management quota. This arrangement had been carefully thought out before it was introduced. If the medical institutions are allowed a complete sway over admissions where is the role of the governing bodies and the government? Unfortunately, the Punjab government is abdicating its power and responsibility over admissions in private colleges.
Mohindra’s argument that the two private medical colleges – Gian Sagar Medical College and Chintpurni Medical College – shut down due to financial crisis doesn’t hold good. The fact is that both colleges failed not due to lack of financial resources, but because of the overall mismanagement. If the management of a medical college finds it difficult to run the institution, it should better shut down rather than resort to illegal and unethical practices with the open connivance of the government.
MCI SHOULD STEP IN
One expects the governments, particularly the one led by Capt Amarinder Singh, to ensure fair play and not support and justify unfair means, which some medical colleges have started resorting to. Hopefully, the Medical Council of India should take note of it and stop the government from conniving with medical colleges.
Medical education and the health services in Punjab need an overhaul. But allowing private medical colleges a free run does not indicate any such intentions of the government. It rather reflects poorly on the government that instead of taking measures to improve the system has succumbed and submitted to the unjustified and unlawful demands of the managements of some private medical colleges. In case these institutions are cash-starved, the government should help the students with soft and longterm loans or subsidies.
Money should not be allowed to replace merit. That, in the long run, will play havoc with the health system.
THE PUNJAB HEALTH MINISTER’S JUSTIFICATION THAT MEDICAL COLLEGES HAVE TO BE MADE FINANCIALLY VIABLE LACKS REASON AND LOGIC. IT SIMPLY CANNOT BE DONE AT THE COST OF MERIT