Students in no man’s land as fate of SR Medical College hangs in balance

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: When Rahul (name changed) walked through the gates of SR Medical College and Research Centre (SRMCRC) in Varkala for the first time, he had high dreams. He wanted to be an eminent doctor and he believed the institution could help him achieve it. 

Three years down the line, his dreams lie shattered. Constant controversies surrounding the institution and erratic classes have marred his academic journey. Recently, the institution was in the news for the management’s alleged efforts to dupe assessors of the Medical Council of India’s Board of Governors when they came for an inspection. The only prayer of Rahul and his classmates is classes shouldn’t be interrupted. 

“We seem to be in no man’s land. The college lacks the prerequisites for MBBS course. When our friends tried to bring this to light, they were served with a show-cause notice. Our future is at stake. Our only hope is the state government,” said a student. 

Last Saturday, the management served show-cause notice to six students accusing them of violating rules by indulging in unauthorised videography and creating ‘chaos’ during the MCI inspection. According to a student representative, the show-cause notice is nothing but a management tactic to intimidate dissenting voices. 

“It should be considered a farce. It was upon our demand that the Director of Medical Education, Ministry of Health, instructed MCI to conduct an assessment of the standards of faculty and clinical materials. The management knows well the inspection is going to be the final nail in their coffin. It was they who disrupted the inspection,” said a student who received show-cause notice. 
According to the student, it was on May 29 the Director of Medical Education, Ministry of Health, convened a meeting as per the directions of Kerala High Court with representatives from the state government, Kerala University of Health Sciences, MCI, students and SRMCRC management. In that meeting, the state government took the stance that it would not be possible to shift students to state-run Medical Colleges. It also came out with the suggestion that the college should be assessed once more. It was this assessment that was disrupted midway. 

SRMCRC had a jittery start in 2016. It admitted 100 students for the 2016-17 academic year after receiving conditional permission from the Supreme Court-appointed Oversight Committee (OC). It was procured after the OC overturned MCI’s recommendation of withdrawing the college’s recognition citing lack of adequate facilities. Later, when the MCI conducted the inspection it found the college had failed to ensure adequate infrastructure, faculty, clinical material and other requirements. Following that, the college was barred from admitting students for two academic years - 2017-18 and 2018-19.