CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin has urged the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to keep in abeyance the notification issued by the National Medical Commission (NMC) to restrict the opening of new medical colleges, as he said, the SC has held that executive instructions cannot impose reasonable restrictions on the fundamental right to establish educational institutions.
In his letter to Modi on Wednesday, Stalin cited NMC notification that after academic year 2023-2024, Letter of Permission for starting new medical colleges could be issued only for an annual intake capacity of 50/100/150 seats, provided that the medical college follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats for 10 lakh population in a state or union territory.
Stalin said the notification is a direct encroachment on the rights of state governments and amounts to penalising the states who have invested more in their public health infrastructure over the years.
The CM said even when there is adequate availability of doctors at the state level, there are districts where their availability continues tobe a persistent issue. “This problem can be effectively addressed only by opening of new medical colleges in such backward areas,” he added.