MADURAI: Responding to state BJP president K Annamalai's comments over a report by The New Indian Express on the unlikelihood of MBBS admission at AIIMS this year, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan said that the Centre only sent a vague letter on admitting 50 MBBS students at a temporary site.
On September 9, TNIE carried a news report titled 'MBBS admissions at Madurai AIIMS unlikely this year'. The Health Minister Ma Subramanian, had then told TNIE, "During the recent meeting with the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at New Delhi, it was conveyed that the suggestions put forth regarding the commencement of MBBS admission at a temporary campus until the building construction is completed, were not found feasible. The Union Health Ministry too acknowledged the practical difficulties in meeting the criteria of the National Medical Commission (NMC), to admit students. It is unlikely that AIIMS admission would commence in this academic year (2020-21)."
BJP President's reaction
Citing that the DMK govt had ruled out all the three options given by the Union government to start the classes immediately, Annamalai wrote, "Many of our new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) were started in temporary classrooms in the initial phase. Even IIM Tiruchy, when it was established, was functioning from NIT Trichy."
He went on to question, "When the construction (of AIIMS at Thoppur) is on, what reason does the state government have in denying 150 middle class and poor students the opportunity to study in a world-class institute? Their (DMK's) phobia of ‘anti-centre’ is going to extreme levels in Tamil Nadu."
Madurai MP's statement
The MP Venkatesan stated, In the backdrop of 90% completion of the construction of a compound wall at the AIIMS site in Thoppur, the Union government wrote to the state government to identify a temporary campus to commence MBBS classes for 50 students, anticipating a delay in constructing the building
List of infra demands
"The infrastructure required to meet the academic needs of the students include air-conditioned classrooms, laboratories to study anatomy, physiology, and pathology, an audio-visual demonstration hall, cadaver dissection halls, a library containing printed books and e-books, examination halls. In terms of accommodation and transportation, hostels, dining halls, and bus facilities are needed.
As part of recreation facilities, indoor and outdoor sports complexes, yoga/meditation halls, and an internet cafe ought to be provided to students, besides setting up an on-campus bank, cafeteria, ATM, staff quarters for the 50 MBBS students of AIIMS. This apart, administrative offices of key officials including the Deputy Director (Management), Medical Superintendent must be set up. All these amenities should be provided by the state government at the earliest, the Union Ministry wrote in its letter to the Tamil Nadu government," he mentioned.
'Letter vague'
Citing the letter, the MP said that the Union government had listed the infrastructure created at a permanent medical college as the need of a temporary campus too. "But, there is neither a mention about who is to grant funds for creating the temporary infrastructure nor about the role-sharing between Union and state governments in creating the adequate facilities.
More importantly, it is the National Medical Commission (NMC) that grants permission for the intake of 50 MBBS students. Even if the state government makes necessary arrangements at Government Sivaganga Medical College, Tamil Nadu government is not authorised to increase the student admission by 50 medical seats and there is no guarantee that the NMC would immediately grant permission," Venkatesan pointed out.