Resident doctors of Safdurjung Medical College and students of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (IPU) staged a protest on Friday outside Medical Superintendent’s office of Safdarjung Hospital over authorities’ proposed plan to shift colleges (Post Graduate seats) affiliation to Delhi University.
According to senior faculty of Safdarjung Hospital’s Vardhman Mahavir Medical College (VMMC), the medical college has a good ratio of undergraduates (UG) and PG seats once these gets affiliated to DU the level of competition will increase as DU has less number of PG seats.
Currently, the VMMC is affiliated to IPU. IPU has about 130 PG seats for 395 UG students while DU has about 240 PG seats for 600 UG. It has also been planned to affiliate RMl Hospital’s Post Graduate Medical College to DU.
There are three medical Government colleges in Delhi affiliated to IPU and these are Army College of Medical College (ACMS), North Medical College (Hindu Rao Hospital) and VVMC.
A doctor said ACMS, Hindu Rao Medical College does not run PG course right now. So, undergraduate students of these two colleges have university quota to apply at VVMC and RMl’s medical college. “Once, the RMl and VVMC medical college will get affiliated to DU, UG students will lose their university quota,” said a doctor.
RMl and Safdarjung Hospital comes under the Central Government but their medical college is affiliated to IPU. A doctor at Safdarjung Hospital said in 2000, when this college was established, at that time Delhi University rejected to give affiliation to the medical college. “Then IP University recognised us, and gave the affiliation. Since it has been more than 15 years, the college has been progressing churning out best doctors,” he said.
Another senior doctor told The Pioneer that, the VMMC’s affiliation to DU has been passed by a few people in the Ministry having some vested interests and even the Union Health Minister JP Nadda was not aware of this. “We have met the Health Minister and requested him to stop the process of DU affiliation of VMMC.”
“The proposal not only goes against the interests and rights of doctors, students and patients but is unconstitutional as it undermines a 2015 judgment passed by the Delhi High Court. The change of affiliation fails to provide a solution that addresses the disparity between students and PG seats for MD/MS courses at Delhi University when the statistics are closely analysed,” said the protesting doctor.
The ratio for both universities being similar will only worsen for both after the implementation of proposal owing to a significant decrease in PG seats at SJH and RMl hospitals, said sources. “And there would be decrease in number of specialised doctors which will add to the patient’s woes as currently there is a ratio of 1:1100 per Government doctor to 11,000 patients, said a doctor.