MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

MD, MS exam delay: Probe sought in letter to CJI, nat’l rights panel

Neel.Kamal@timesgroup.com

Bathinda:17.11.2021

Twelve postgraduate (MD/MS) students of the 2018 batch of Adesh Medical University, Bathinda, have their careers hanging in a balance for five months now. They have written to National Medical Commission to direct the university to conduct their final exams, but to no avail.

The 12 students had completed their three-year course in May 2021. The final exams should have been held in May-June. However, the students are embroilled in a court case with the university over the fee structure for the course. Upon their representation, a health and human rights activist on Tuesday wrote to the Chief Justice of India, chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, and the chairman of National Human Rights Commission to order an immediate inquiry into the circumstances of the exam and to order that they be conducted to save the career of students.

The problem about the structure of tuition fee of these MD/MS students started from their admission in 2018. The state government had fixed tuition fee at Rs 19.5 lakh for the full courses ofall medical institutes in the state, but the Adesh University had fixed its fee at Rs 49.32 lakh after challenging the state government-fixed tuition fee in the high court. The students paid Rs 19.5 lakh each, but the issue of close to Rs 30 lakh remained unresolved. The students claimed that they were being forced to pay remaining the Rs 29.81 lakh and told that the final exam will be conducted only after the balance was paid. Students, not wanting to be named, said they had written to National Medical Commission, but to no avail.

Upon getting a representation from students, Dr Vitull K Gupta, who is the chairman of Association of Physicians of India (Malwa Branch), sent representations to the CJI. He said in the past also, he had sent representations to the Union health minister and National Medical Commission, but no action was taken.

National Medical Commission had issued an advisory to all medical colleges vide a letter dated June 22 to hold exams for final-year postgraduate students at the earliest convenient time, depending on the Covid-19 situation. Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and SGRD University of Health Sciences, Amritsar, have conducted the exams.

University registrar Jagdev Singh did not respond. Its deputy registrar, Kulwant Singh, said as per NMC guidelines, the process is on to conduct the exams as early as possible. As there was a delay in new admissions in the MD/MS courses, there is a delay in exams for the outgoing batch, he added. Denying that students were being harassed for fee, he said the matter was sub-judice. “We have never demanded fee from students. Even the application has been filed twice in the court for early hearing of the case,” he added.