NGOs oppose govt’s move to privatise Tura medical college
A conglomeration of ten civil society organizations on Monday demanded the state government to cancel its decision to privatise the Tura medical college.
In a joint statement, the organizations said, “Therefore, we are urging the state government to cancel the PPP model and keep Tura Medical College fully public. Do not misuse land donated by Garo community, kindly honour their contribution. Keep the college and hospital under one authority to maintain training quality and public service. Apply the same model for both Shillong and Tura with no biased treatment between regions. The people of Garo Hills demand transparency, fairness, and respect for public interest. Tura Medical College must serve the people, not private profits. We will not accept a system that compromises our youth’s future or public healthcare.”
The signatories of the joint statement include Senior Citizens, Mothers Union, Garo Students’ Union (GSU), Federation of Khasi-Jaintia & Garo People (FKJGP), ADE, A’chik Youth Welfare Organization (AYWO), Federation for A’chik Freedom (FAF), Garoland State Movement Committee (GSMC), A.chik Consciousness Holistically Integrated Krima (ACHIK) and Post-Graduates Students Union (PGSU), NEHU campus.
The organizations also pointed out that 50% reservation is not enough.
“Meghalaya students need at least 85% seats. We do not want splitting the hospital and college between different entities which will cause conflict and confusion. Also, patients might face higher charges if advanced machines are used by private partners. As mentioned, if the college is run by the private entity the institution might focus more on profit-making than training quality doctors or serving the public, they stated.
The signatories also referred to the recent statement of the chief minister Conrad K Sangma that 50% plus or upto 55% of MBBS seats in Tura Medical College would be reserved for the students of Meghalaya and the seats will be given on the state’s reservation and domicile policy, including the notification vide No. PER.222/71/138 dated 12th January 1972. And if the negotiations goes well in the future, the government may increase the seat reservation for Meghalaya students up to 60%.
“However, the Expression of Interest (EoI) issued by the Directorate of Health Services (Medical Education & Research) clearly states that only up to 50% of the seats would be reserved under the Government quota. This contradiction raises serious concerns to us. Which statement is the truth? And why should we settle for only 50-60% reservation when other states reserve up to 85% of their seats for local students?” they asked.
“We want to pose a question to the CM for his recent statement… He stated that “The Tura Civil Hospital will stay with the government, but the college will run privately” Which hospital will the students train in? Who manages the teaching hospital? Who ensures the training quality and ethics? We would like to remind our CM that according to the National Medical Commission (NMC) Amendment Notification dated 13th December 2022, issued under: Section 10(A) read with Section 33 of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956), and Section 61(2) of the National Medical Commission Act a medical college must have a fully functional attached hospital for clinical teaching and training. Without it, the college will not be recognized and cannot admit students. The main goal of having a medical college in our state is to train more doctors and specialists locally. Meghalaya does not have enough doctors, and emergency patients are often referred to Guwahati Assam or other states due to lack of specialists. Honestly, privatization will only make access harder for locals,” they stated adding “In the state of Assam, even a prestigious government-run institution like namely Guwahati Medical College reserves 85% of seats for state-domiciled students. This ensures that the local youth have access to affordable, quality medical education. Why can’t the same be done for Meghalaya? Why are our students being given fewer opportunities in our own state’s first medical college?”
The signatories further stated that Tura Medical College is the first state medical college in Meghalaya. It must set an example as a government-run institution, just like Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Assam.
“Again, why is only Tura being given on PPP? Why isn’t Shillong Medical College not being handed to private players? Is there a double standard at play here? Why is Garo Hills being treated differently? We fear that this is a deliberate move to undermine the importance of Tura Medical College and reduce government accountability in a region that has historically been underdeveloped,” they said.
“The land for Tura Medical College was given by local people in good faith, with the hope that it would be used for public benefit. The government has also invested heavily in infrastructure for the college. Now, giving it to a private company means, private partners will reap profits from something built with public money and public land. Which means that this is a clear case of public investment being transferred to private profit. Understand that the original purpose of the land is to serve the people and it will be completely lost if it is handed over to profit-making corporations. We feel that this is not just bad policy but it is a betrayal of the donors, the people, and the youth of Garo Hills, “they added.
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looking at the progress of works the medical college doesnt seem to be 80 percent complete , there are no electrical or mechanical works seen and neither any road and other infrastructure services. detail progress statement should be published.