Education : Spurious Medical Colleges in Bihar

NK SINGH

Opening of private medical colleges should be made a penal offence, according to a recommendation made by the Medical Education Committee which was appointed by The Bihar Government to enquire into the maladies and to suggest ways to improve the standard of medical education. 

The Committee, which seems to have taken pains to go into the depth of the problem, comments in its recently submitted report: "The organisers of none of the private medical colleges in the State seem to have made any donation. It is, therefore, clear that there is no element of philanthropy in these enterprises and the organisers have not been motivated by a missionary spirit, On the other hand, whatever may have been their intentions, they seem to have created the impression that the craze for medical education is being exploited under the clock of missionary spirit".

The Committee has suggested the promulgation of an ordinance immediately to check the mushroom growth of private medical colleges. Consequently, the Health Department of the State Government sent a draft of the ordinance to the Law Department where the whole issue is being scrutinised for further action.

CAPITATION FEE

In the course of its investigation, the Committee has found that some of the half-a-dozen private medical colleges in Bihar, which admit students after charging a capitation fee ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs. 20,000 per student without having any uniform criteria, are running in contravention of the principles laid down by the Medical Council of India: Most of these colleges are without any buildings of their own, adequate teaching staff, necessary equipment and attached teaching hospital for training. These basic facilities are supposed to be created later on, with the help of "donations" raised by students.

Expressing concern over the responsibilities of medical personnel, the port points out that by lending their name to some retired and senior teachers. and doctors have caused "serious harm to medical education in the State... They've allowed their prestigious position as eminent retired teachers to be misused by organisers of private medical colleges to mislead students desirous of acquiring medical education."

The Committee found that motivated by considerations other than academic (political?), the universities in Bihar gave affiliations to these colleges without having ascertained the standard of teaching etc and thus encouraged the emergence of teaching shops.

POWERFUL BACKING

But ironically, having said all this, the Committee suggests that "four of the private medical colleges might be allowed to continue." Perhaps the Committee could not do otherwise as any suggestion to deny recognition to the said medical colleges would have created political upheaval in the State is an open secret that most of these leaching shops have powerful backing of politicians behind them.

As far as the Committee's recommendation that "opening of private medical colleges in the State should be made a penal offence" is concerned, it is not difficult to visualise that powerful political barons will not allow this to happen. 

The Bihar Government had even earlier decided against granting recognition to such colleges but Ministers were still willing to inaugurate them and support them and eminent doctors were willing to lend prestige to make these teaching shops look respectable and reliable!

The entire affair is a sad commentary on the part of the Government's failure to expand facilities for medical education in the State, which, in turn, provides the scope for starling private medical colleges.

PROFITEERS

In these days of acute unemployment, the administrative, technical, and medical lines offer better job potential. Hence, many students want to take up these lines. 

Besides, there is a scarcity of medical colleges in Bihar which has a small number in comparison with other States Maharashtra with a population of 4,84,84,000 has 12 medical colleges and Mysore with a population of 2,84,75,000 has nine, 5,59,85.000 inhabitants of Bihar have to share among themselves three medical colleges.

It is said that some leading doctors have formed a vested interest in preventing the spread of medical education in the State for fear of losing their practices.

This phenomenon encouraged people to open "private medical colleges". Profit is the catchword. The clever businessmen of our society found good scope for extending their business empire to the academic field a business which needs practically no capital. This no capital business had the backing of some influential persons including Ministers, legislators, senior doctors, and so called academicians. 

Taking advantage of the situation, about hall-a-dozen private medical colleges" and even a "medical university" sprang up.

The association of these so-called respectable people helped to create the hallucination that in the long run, these colleges will be affiliated with different universities (which did happen) and ultimately the Medical Council of India would recognise them (which did not happen).

Several, hundred dents, almost all of whom could not be admitted to Government medical colleges due to lack of merit were lured to get themselves admitted to these colleges by paying, besides the heavy tuition fee, a large "donation" of Rs. 20,000 or so. Even third divisions were admitted to paying sumptuous donations. In his way, the sponsors were able to collect several crores of rupees the sole motive behind their philanthropic and missionary spirit.

The situation in other States is hardly any different. This is a national malady and is not necessarily restricted to the field of medical education. Education in general has come to be big business. In a State like Kerala, which is supposed to be doing well vis-a-vis education, communal organisations are collecting huge funds from aspiring entrants. 

The organisations get fabulously rich on the money collected but the institutions remain unattended till the government, by public or political pressure, is brought to grant huge funds to salvage the institution and save the students already admitted When education becomes a big business, students become busy with everything other than educating themselves.

DEFALCATION

The skeletons in the cupboard of private medical colleges started rattling when a quarrel broke out among the sponsors of one of these colleges the Patliputra Medical College in April 1971. 

While the registrar of the said college charged its managing committee chairman, a former Chief Minister of Bihar, and others closely connected with it, with defalcation of college funds up to the tune of Rs one crore, the secretary was reported to have threatened the "treasurer with a revolver. 

A case, known as Patliputra Medical College Defalcation Case, is pending in courts and several influential persons including politicians have been rounded up.

LINK

MAY 21, 1972