Medical education dept in need of surgery

In the last one year, the hospitals attached to the government medical colleges and the colleges have been in news for all the wrong reasons.

It is not that the Medical Education department is afflicted with a malady. It is but one among the charastertic government departments. The difference is that unlike others, Medical Education department is entrusted with the onerous responsibility of meeting health needs of lakhs of people at the grassroots level.

The department is also vested with the responsibility of turning out qualified doctors and paramedical staff. But the developments in this department gives hardly any indication that it is either meant for the poor or meritorious students. The surprise visits of Medical Education Minister S A Ramdas to hospitals and the scams unearthed in the medical colleges only reflect the sad state of affairs.

Almost all the twelve autonomous medical colleges established by the government have been found erring either in examination processes or administrative matters. The Nursing Examination and the Paramedical Boards are not exceptions.

Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences itself is neck deep in scams. The irregularities at Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Bellary (VIMS) during the PGCET last year, and the re-totalling scam have put the varsity in a spot.

With each surprise visit of the minister unearthing new scams, it appears that the department has to go a long way in streamlining its functioning.

When Deccan Herald checked the status of inquiries into various malpractices and irregularities that have come to light in recent times, it was  found that the department has done little to take action against the guilty despite receiving the inquiry reports.
While the VIMS and the re-totalling scams which were referred to the CID and the police, respectively, are still under investigation, the minister’s surprise visits have led to suspension of erring officials. But many of them have moved the courts to get stay and have rejoined work.

Why this situation?

According to former RGUHS vice chancellor Dr Ramanand Shetty, surprise checks are not sufficient. It should be followed up with punishment. “The government officials find ways to mount pressure on the higher ups and ensure that no action is initiated against them. Punishing them has been very difficult,” he said. He, however, felt that it was wrong to blame the RGUHS for the scams.

“Senior officers had taken enough care to ensure that there were no lapses. As the malpractice occurred at an examination centre, the University cannot be blamed,” he said referring to the VIMS, Bellary episode.

He also said that it was RGUHS which had brought the re-totalling scam to the notice of the minister. “But no credit was given to the university. Instead, the university itself was blamed,” he added.

Solution

Shetty said the only way of ensuring quality education to students was adopting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) proposed by the Centre. “It is unquestionably a good system. This will curb manipulation in the examinations and
drawing of seat matrix.”

The State has already announced that it would not join the NEET for the next two years.
RGUHS Vice Chancellor Dr K S Sriprakash too believes that the government had failed in enforcing the rules. “Enforcement of law should be stringent wherever the problems are.
Ever since the minister began the surprise visits in colleges, the employees have become a bit scared. However, the minister can only create alertness. There should be an internal monitoring system – a watchdog/local security, to monitor activities and functioning of the staff in the colleges. Often, we see enforcing authorities taking a soft stand,” he said.
The VC said that RGUHS was undertaking many measures to bring about reforms. One such reform is trying to get National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Professionals (NABH) certification to the varsity.

In addition, the University was in the process of setting up Medical Education Cells in all the colleges to monitor quality of education imparted to the students. This will help improve the teaching standards, he said. He also said that officials found indulging in malpractices have been transferred nondescript places in the university.

RGUHS is also in the process of computerising all the sections including the examination section, bringing down the instances of manual manipulation. The results are all submitted online. The University has also enforced installation of CCTVs in all the examination centres, he added.

Victimised?

Medical Education, principal secretary, Gopalkrishne Gowda, however, feels that his department is being victimised. He said except for the PGET examination scam, the other irregularities found were all ‘minor deficiencies’.

“We need to look at the bigger picture. The colleges are doing well – there is a high patient rate. The patients are not complaining, as we take good care of them. In fact, we are better than the private institutions.”

He also said too many watchdogs to check irregularities, malpractices and corruption wouldn’t help the matters. Duty consciousness should come from within, he added.
Gowda said the government was trying to address the problem of staff shortage, but the Finance Department was yet to give its approval.