No admission in three new medical colleges this yr: SC
A zero academic year is one during which no academic activity is conducted, including exams and classes
DHANBAD: The Supreme Court in its order on Tuesday declared 2021-22 as a zero academic year -- during which no academic activities are conducted, including exams and classes -- in three new medical colleges of Jharkhand, due to lack of facilities and infrastructure.
Some NEET qualified MBBS seats aspirants earlier filed a PIL in the Supreme Court for permission to take admission in these colleges. However, the apex court on Tuesday dismissed it saying that despite giving undertaking last year, the state government did not work on the deficiencies in all three medical colleges located in Palamu, Hazaribagh and Dumka.
“Whatever deficiencies had existed last year in the three institutions are still intact. So permission can’t be granted for admission of students due to lack of facilities and infrastructure.”, order said.
As a consequence of zero year, Jharkhand has now lost 300 MBBS seats in current academic session.
One of the three students, who had gone to Delhi with
Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth, met union health minister and filed a PIL in the SC, holding bureaucrats of the state responsible for this loss. “Indifferent attitude of concerned officials of state costed us our hard earned money and one precious year of life”, he said.
However, a senior officer of state government’s health department on Wednesday said, “Department heard about the
order of SC on admission in these new medical colleges but until official paper reaches the state government, will not make any comment on it.”
Three medical colleges started with 100 MBBS seats each in 2019, inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Though then Medical Council of India (MCI) had refused permission to start admission in the colleges, the Jharkhand government knocked the doors of the SC and after taking undertaking of principal secretary, the court allowed admission on certain conditions.
NMC, in October 2020, banned admission in Palamu, Hazaribagh, Dumka Medical College of Jharkhand due to basic deficiencies in infrastructure, besides lack of teachers and doctors, required for 100 MBBS students.