Madhya Pradesh's sole medical science university on the verge of closure? Junior doctors sound alarm

A rising tide of panic is sweeping across Madhya Pradesh's medical fraternity in the wake of reports that the state government is contemplating closing down or drastically reorganizing the Madhya Pradesh Medical Science University (MPMSU), which is headquartered in Jabalpur.

 

The state is likely to roll back the degree-confering power of MPMSU into regional universities, recent media reports say. Under this, students who are pursuing their studies in colleges such as Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, would have their degrees awarded by Barkatullah University, while those from Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Medical College, Jabalpur, would come under Rani Durgavati University, among others.

 

MPMSU, set up to act as the state's one and only affiliating medical university, would no longer be the central body.

 

Medicos protest move

 

For this, the Junior Doctors Association of Madhya Pradesh has written to the Medical Education Minister Rajendra Shukla expressing strong objections to the plan.

 

In a comprehensive memorandum presented this week, the association has appealed to the government to rethink the step that might have serious ramifications for the state's healthcare and medical education infrastructure.

 

The JDA letter highlights the function played by MPMSU in introducing uniformity, transparency, and accountability in medical and paramedical education in Madhya Pradesh. Medical colleges were attached to different regional universities prior to the establishment of MPMSU, leading to irregular exam dates, time lags in results, and accounts of irregularities.

 

"With the introduction of MPMSU, there has been uniformity, transparency, and quality in medical and paramedical education in the state. Ever since its establishment, all affiliated medical colleges have been conducting examinations on time and publishing results within a specified time frame. This has resulted not just in more discipline among students but also stopped corruption and irregularities which were rampant earlier under regional universities," the letter stated.

 

The association also feared that the regional universities do not have the experience and insight needed to manage medical education, which is much more sophisticated and dynamic than traditional university programs.

 

Returning affiliations to such schools, they contend, might lead to academic inequities, slow internships and residencies, and interference with crucial training processes.

 

The letter further mentioned that the university has worked tirelessly in enforcing the standards and guidelines set forth by the National Medical Commission (NMC), an undertaking that would be jeopardized by the absence of a centralised medical university.

 

No word from the government yet

 

Discussing with EdexLive, Dr Kuldeep Gupta, President of the Junior Doctors Association, reaffirmed these fears and called on the government to spell out its intentions.

 

We learned through the media that the state government is planning to close MPMSU. This is a worrying development, as Madhya Pradesh has only a single dedicated medical science university which is monitoring all the medical colleges in the state. Closing it down would be an injustice to medical students," he told.

 

"We have presented a memorandum to the Department of Medical Education, and though we haven't had an official reply so far, department sources have informally mentioned that the university would not be closed down. Rather, they are going to add new professional courses," he said.

 

"But any such attempt to abolish MPMSU would drastically impact the quality of medical education, hamper academic consistency, and generate inconsistency in training and exam schedules across institutions," he also said.

 

While uncertainty prevails, students, doctors, and medical associations from all over the state are now waiting for a clear-cut statement from the government. Meanwhile, Junior Doctors Association has signaled that the matter might be escalated further if their issues are not addressed on time.

 

MPMSU, formed in 2011, now associates more than 300 medical, dental, nursing, paramedical, and AYUSH colleges of Madhya Pradesh. Any major restructuring would influence thousands of students and several streams of medical education.