After repeated crises in private medical colleges in the State affecting hundreds of students, Punjab Government is contemplating to increase the Endowment Fund many folds to help tide over the crisis.
In the wake of the ongoing crisis in the Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital at Banur, the Government is planning to make precautionary measures so that such crises don’t crop up in the private medical institutes again.
An endowment fund is an investment set up by an institution in which regular withdrawals from the invested capital are used for ongoing operations or other specified purposes. It is learnt that the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences has been asked to look into the idea of raising the Endowment fund and send it to the Department of Medical Education and Research in shape of a proposal. As per the suggestion, the Endowment Fund may be hiked to `50 Crore from the existing `2 crores.
The crisis in the Gian Sagar Medical College is not the first case as in the past the other two private medical colleges Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital (CMCH), Pathankot, Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Jalandhar too have faced such a situation wherein the promoters backed out financially. CMCH has become almost defunct after the Medical Council of India (MCI) did not allow it to admit new students after its first batch in 2011.
Confirming the suggestion, Hussan lal, Secretary, Medical Education and Research said that some concrete steps are required to be taken and raising Endowment Fund could be a fine precautionary measure as in case of management level crises in any institute, the Government will be able to take over the management with the help of Endowment Fund.
Talking about the measures being taken to revive the functioning in Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, he said that the departmental authorities have talked to the members of the trust and the faculty members. The pending salaries up to November 2015 have been released to the faculty and the staff members, and up to December 2015 to the Para-medical staff by the trust and the trust members have assured to clear all dues by April 2016.
He said that the Government had sent a notice to the college management to withdraw their approval, but closing down the college was not the objective of the department and the department had been putting all efforts to keep the college going. He said after the assurance by the trust members, some of the faculty members had agreed to rejoin their work while some are still reluctant to start work before clearance of their entire pending dues. Hussan lal said that he was ready to talk to all the stake holders in the college if the need be.
Due to non-release of salaries, the faculty of the college had stopped functioning and all OPD services, except emergency services in the hospital and teaching work in the college had come to a halt. After the Government’s intervention, the members of Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust have come forward to revamp the institute.