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MBBS students enrolled in 2016 at the SR Medical College in Thiruvananthapuram have been put in a lurch as the college has failed to adhere to the basic rules and regulations outlined by the MCI.
Kerala’s SR Medical College Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram has been involved in a string of conspiracies, which will cause 100 students who had been enrolled under its MBBS programme 3 years ago. For the past three years, the college had not been conducting any classes, practicals or lectures.
SR Medical College and Research Centre had been set up in 2016, which in 2017 was found to have substandard and insufficient facilities to allow them to operate as a medical college. The Medical Council of India (MCI), had barred the college from enrolling more students, which resulted in only the 2016 batch of students to study at the college. Recently in December 2019, the Union Health Ministry had directed the Kerala State Government to retract the Essentiality Certificate (EC) and enroll the affected students to the other self-financed medical colleges situated in Kerala. However, the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association (KPMCMA), which is a collective of 18 medical colleges of the state, had refused to take admit the affected students from the college.
During the first year of operations, the students did not witness issues regarding the classes, however, the second year of operations saw various issues crop up. Students from the college have stated during the second year, the college was not able to conduct any practical classes due to lack of patients and corpses for the anatomy classes. Adding to the injury, the teachers of the college went on a strike over an issue of salary. This deadly combination resulted in no classes being held at the college.
The next year, the students also began protesting demanding the commencement of the classes again. The students continued to go for classes even though there no lectures and they even approached the court to seek help over the issue. Finally, with no response of any kind from anywhere, the students slowly stopped going to college.
Students from the college have also claimed that there have been no proper classes held for the past three year due to many reasons, including those mentioned above. They added that all the students were just made to pass in the college examinations.
Sources have claimed that SR Medical College took part in malpractices to avoid problems with the MCI. They state that video evidence of the college “renting out” patients right before the MCI was supposed to conduct inspections had been released. Students claim that such situations had taken place more than once. Further allegations against the college revealed that the College authorities did not possess the proper authorisation to construct buildings to establish a medical college, as per the statements of Cherunniyoor Grama Panchayat while talking to the media.
Students had also complained about the lack of proper infrastructure and facilities that had been made available by the College for the purpose of imparting MBBS education.
The entire situation with the college and the withdrawal of its Essentiality Certificate (EC) means, that the college will not be permitted to offer educational services in the state. This combined with the refusal of the KPMCMA to allow SR Medical College students to take admission in one of the other medical colleges has now put the entire student community of the college in a lurch.
Even though the Kerala Government had been acting out on the orders directed by the Centre, the Kerala Private Medical College Management Association has refused to allow admissions to the students, without citing any reason for the same.
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The students have been demanding that the state government takes steps to offer provisions to the aggrieved students, which allows them to take admissions to other medical colleges. The students claim that there have been no promises have been made with respect to the fees being refunded to the students.
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Students and their parents have stated that they will continue to reach out to the court and the government to offer some kind o remuneration to the students, affected by the college’s mismanagement.
