Doctor dreams collapse due to lack of funds

G Sukanya aspires to be a doctor

CHENNAI: The dream of G Sukanya (23) had been to be a doctor. Until May, her dream was only a few months away from becoming a reality; now, it could remain just a dream.A medical seat didn’t come easy for Sukanya, who was from the Arunthathiyar SC community. When she didn’t get a seat in Government medical colleges, her father, a farmer, decided that that he would make her a doctor somehow, even if it meant selling all his property to get her a seat in a deemed university. It cost Rs 45 lakh, to be precise.
After paying Rs 16 lakh for the first and second academic years, her father passed away, leaving her looking skyward for a miracle. Unable to pay the fees for the third year, the college authorities allegedly asked her to leave which she eventually did in May this year.

“Since 2014, the authorities had been warning me that if I am unable to pay the fees, I have to leave. I joined the college in the year 2012 and yearly we had to pay Rs 8 lakh. In 2014, I was in the third year and was allowed to continue. By the end of 2015, I was not regular to college as the authorities went on asking for fees but I couldn’t pay. There was a gap of one-and-a-half years when I didn’t continue studies,” she said adding that it was this year in the month of May she had to give up her dreams.

Helpless yet determined to continue pursuing her dreams, she approached five businessmen and politicians in Coimbatore. But nobody was willing to pay the full amount. “From third year to the fifth year, it would cost Rs 24 lakh. But I asked only for Rs 8 lakh. They said they were ready to pay Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. Even this they were not confident of paying,” she said.

While her father was a farmer, he sold bathroom tiles along with farming that fetched him around Rs 50,000 monthly. But after his demise, her mother started working in a dye factory and began earning Rs 10,000 a month which was sufficient for the two. But fulfilling her daughter’s dreams was impossible. “I want her to complete her MBBS. I just wish we get some sponsors. She had worked hard for this and she can do it. But if she has to give up her dreams due to lack of finance, it would be disappointing,” said B Sathya, her mother.

Sukanya said in Government colleges, an SC/ST student gets a scholarship of Rs 3 lakh and yearly, they have to pay less than Rs 50,000. But as she was in a deemed university, she is not eligible for a scholarship. “My teachers are saying that the management is only money oriented and are not bothered if I finish my MBBS. Now, I am waiting for somebody to help. I am also seeking help from activists,” she said.
She also added that when she approached banks for loans, they refused, saying they couldn’t provide loans in the middle of a course.

R Christiodas Gandhi, founder of Ambedkar Kalvi Centenary Movement (AKAM) said that since it was a deemed university, the activists could not approach the authority.“This is a case study of a capitation-fee victim. The SC/ST students in such colleges are ignored. We want to approach the management and urge them to consider her case,” he said, and added that they would also approach the Government for scholarship. “She was not able get loans or scholarships. Inspite of poverty, her father wanted her to pursue medicine. Dreams like hers get crushed because of the money-mindedness of colleges,” he said.