Central law needed to monitor higher tech,med education: SC

The Supreme Court Friday asserted the extreme necessity for a central law to rein in unethical practices in higher technical and medical education.

The Supreme Court Friday asserted the extreme necessity for a central law to rein in unethical practices in higher technical and medical education in the country to keep up the standards of education and ensure students do not become the source to fund such institutions.

A Bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and A K Sikri expressed concern over mushrooming medical,engineering and pharmaceutical colleges,compromising on quality of education in name of autonomy. The court called upon for serious introspection with regard to state of affairs,particularly medical education.

Private medical educational institutions are always demanding more number of seats in their colleges even though many of them have no sufficient infrastructural facilities,clinical materials,faculty members,etc. Reports appear every now and then that many of the private institutions conducting medical colleges are demanding lakhs and sometimes crores of rupees for MBBS and post-graduate admission in their respective colleges, pointed out the Bench.

Central Government,Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,Central Bureau of Investigation or the intelligence wing have to take effective steps to undo such unethical practices or else self-financing institutions will turn to be students financing institutions, it cautioned.

The courts observation is significant in the wake of the pending review petition by the government and the MCI against the scrapping of the common medical entrance test. The majority verdict had ruled in favour of the autonomy for the medical colleges,particularly minority institutions,but the dissenting judge Justice Anil R Dave had highlighted the necessity of having a common test.

The courts observations came as it dismissed a petition by private Rohilkhand Medical College and Hospital,Bareilly,challenging the decision of MCI on July 13 this year for increased intake of students for MBBS students.