The Medical Council of India (MCI) has permitted corporates and "for profit" institutions to start medical colleges in the country.
Nearly two months after a NITI Aayog committee recommended privatization of medical colleges, the general body of MCI that met in New Delhi on 2016-11-22 resolved to allow corporate companies to start medical colleges in the country. If the Supreme Court-appointed oversight committee and the ministry of health and family welfare approve this, corporates can apply for starting new colleges, officials said. Educational institutes in the country are now being run by government or registered not-for-profit society or charitable trust.
Foreign direct investment rules prohibit investments from foreign companies in these societies or trusts.Though a group of doctors in the general body raised concerns that allowing corporates will further commercialize education, most of them said allowing corporates will improve standards to the level of Harvard and Oxford universities. "Many private institutions are any way making profit through non-transparent and illegal means. If we legalise corporates, they would charge a very high fee, but they will be forced to pay income tax," said Coimbatore-based laparascopic surgeon L P Thanagavelu, a member of MCI who was present at the meeting.
"There were many recommendations from members on how this could be done, but a majority thought it was a good idea. Some of them recommended that a portion of seats in these institutions should go to students from economically weaker sections or to merit students entering through the state quota," he said. Muslim Educational Society president P A Fazal Gafoor said it would be impossible for the council to have two systems of ownership. "Already we have trusts and societies running `not-for-profit' colleges. They were not paying income tax and accepting donations. What will happen to them?" he said.
(Content source: Times of India, Kolkata dated 2016-11-25)
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