Indian medicine council chief accused of allowing sub-standard colleges to come up

More than 150 Ayurvedic and Unani colleges with poor infrastructure, not enough faculty and inadequate patient numbers have been allowed to operate by the government on the basis of flawed recommendations of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, several CCIM members have alleged.

As a consequence, students who spend lakhs for admission in these colleges, are not receiving right education in two vital streams of Indian system of medicines – Ayurveda and Unani.

Several CCIM members and a former Council president accused the incumbent president R Vanitha for the rot, claiming she recommended these colleges in violation of the existing laws and regulations.

"Students of Indian medicine are gravely affected due to the illegalities being committed by her. She granted recognition to the colleges, which don't even have a building or proper staff. The students who graduate from such colleges would be of no good," said Ved Prakash Tyagi, a former CCIM president.

He complained to the Prime Minister's Office about the irregularities at the CCIM and how the quality of education was compromised, articulating the same concerns shared by another CCIM member Ashok Kumar Sharma two years ago.

"Needless to say, most of these colleges don't confirm to the requirement of the minimum standards as laid down by the CCIM," Sharma stated in a special CCIM meeting in April 2016.

Tyagi claimed 187 such colleges were approved by CCIM under Vanitha and about 100 of them got the nod in the last two years. "Almost 90% of the new colleges are sub-standard," he said. Majority of these colleges teach Ayurveda, while some offer courses in Unani medicine.

"Our main concern is the quality of education," said Haveri Mahaveer, a CCIM member from Karnataka.

Vanitha didn't respond to email and telephone calls seeking her comments on the allegations. But sources close to her said that figures quoted by Tyagi were incorrect.

Inquiry

In 2016, a CCIM internal inquiry found Vanitha guilty on several counts while probing "various irregularities under her presidentship," and recommended actions against her.

"Ministry of AYUSH constituted a fact finding enquiry committee under the chairmanship of a retired senior officer of government to examine the allegations. CCIM is a regulatory body and independent like MCI, empowered by an act of Parliament," Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, secretary, Ministry of AYUSH told DH.

CCIM regulates Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan medicine) streams of traditional medicine. Based on the CCIM recommendations, the AYUSH ministry approves setting up of new colleges and increasing the  intake in  the existing colleges.