From: gnreddy@cbnewsf.att.com (G.Narotham Reddy)
Subject: India - Prior Sanction Necessary for Medical colleges
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 10 Sep 92 23:29:41 GMT


Source	: The Hindu
Country	: India

Topics:
* Prior Sanction Necessary for Medical colleges
* Prize for Indian author
* Dutta confirmed as CBI chief

                                * * * * * * * 

* Prior Sanction Necessary for Medical colleges

New Delhi - Aug 27: the president Mr.Shankar Dayal Sharma, today 
promulgated two ordinances making it mandatory for new medical and
dental colleges to obtain prior approval of the medical and dental
councils of India before their establishment. The ordinances hope to
check the unplanned growth of medical institutions and dental colleges
and prevent people who open such colleges from capitalizing on the
present demand for the profession without paying proper attention to
the standards of education, according to an official press release.
	The two ordinances, the Indian medical council (amendment)
ordinance 1992 and the dentists (amendment) ordinance 1992 provide
that permission shall be obtained for opening of this colleges by
submitting a scheme to the central government which would forward to
the council concerned for its recommendation.
	The provisions of the ordinances are

	I. It is mandatory to obtain the prior permission of the
medical council of India and dental council of India for opening new
medical and dental colleges. This applies equally to introduction of
new courses of study or increasing intake of students in the existing
colleges.

	II. The medical and dental colleges opened during the current
academic year prior to the issue of ordinance are required to secure
permission from the medical or dental council of India within a period
of one year of the issue of the ordinance.

If prior permission is not obtained the qualification granted to any
student should not be considered a medical or dental qualification.

the two ordinances address only part of the problem that led to the
devaluation of Indian medical degree amidst de-recognition by the
general medical council of Britain a few years ago.

There are 144 medical colleges in the country and only 117 of them are
recognized by the medical council. While there are 33 recognized
dental colleges as many as 25 are not recognized. Apart from lack of
professional facilities in the unrecognized colleges - a large number
of these are in Karnataka and Maharashtra and the Andhra Pradesh
Government has recently taken a decision to allow 12 new medical
colleges to be opened - sum of the recognized institutions also suffer
from inadequate infrastructure and poor teaching facilities.

The center has been seriously considering an amendment to the medical
council of India act to give statuatory powers to the council in the
matter of recognition of medical teaching institutions, but for some
reason or another, this did not take place. Whenever the council
threaten to derecognize a college immense pressure was put on it by
the state government concerned and the students leading to a
postponement of any harsh decision.  The new measure has given teeth 
to the councils.

the ordinance which has now been issued was perhaps long overdue, but
more would have to be done to clean up the mess in medical education.

How far the ordinances would effect the Andhra Pradesh Government
sanction for private medical and dental colleges and the Karnataka
Government's proposal to sanction new private medical colleges is not
clear.

Karnataka already has 19 medical colleges and 37 dental colleges. 13
new dental colleges were sanctioned this year and all of them would
have to secure permission from the councils concerned.

In 1990, the Veerendra Patil government had imposed a three year ban
on the opening of new medical colleges in Karnataka. In a reversal of
that decision, the cabinet had recently authorized the Chief Minister
to sanction to new medical colleges. This decision had attracted flak
from two ministers, including Mr.Veerappa Moiley and other dissidents
in the ruling Cong(I).

In Andhra Pradesh proceedings in the assembly were disrupted
throughout the week amidst vociferous demands by the opposition for
tabling the report of the experts committee on the basis of which the
government claimed it had sanctioned private medical and dental
colleges. After the central ordinance was promulgated, the opposition
demanded that the government rescind its order sanctioning the
colleges.

While the government refused to produce the committee's report in the
assembly it placed it in a sealed cover before a full bench of High
Court hearing a petition on the subject.

In view of the ordinance dissident Cong(I) men in Andhra Pradesh have
stepped up their demand for the resignation of the Chief Minister,
Mr.M.Janardhan Reddy.

The agitation by students and medicos on the sanctioning of private
medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh and the handing over of a medical
college by the Tamilnadu government to the trust from which it had
taken it over continued unabated in both the states.

In Andhra Pradesh, a stateside bundh called by student organizations
on Aug 29 disrupted normal life in several cities and towns.


* Prize for Indian author

Author Amit Chaudhury's 'A Strange and Sublime Address' has bagged the
1992 Commonwealth Writer's prize for the best first book in the
Eurasia division.  The 40 year old Calcutta - born writer's book has
already won international acclaim and won the 1991 Betty Trask award
and a Guardian fiction prize.

* Dutta confirmed as CBI chief

Mr.S.K.Dutta has been formally confirmed as the director of the CBI.
He has been officiating as CBI chief since June 1 after the retirement
of Mr.Vijayakaran. An IPS officer of the 1959 batch, Mr.Dutta has
served in the premier investigating agency in various capacities.

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