Private medical education needs improvement
Thursday, 8 November 2007
Ahmed Ali
OUT of 35 private sector-run medical colleges in the country, many are, reportedly, medical colleges in name only. The operating licences to 25 of them were allegedly given on political considerations or under the influence of powerful quarters. The needed criteria were hardly fulfilled while approvals for opening the colleges were given.
How many of them fulfilled the initial requirements, including the infrastructure needed to qualify as higher centres of medical education is an open question. Not many of them do have hospitals within or near the campus though such facilities are indispensable for a medical college. These colleges lack qualified and experienced doctors needed to teach and train medical students.
Lacking morgues and dissection units and other needed paraphernalia, many of these colleges cannot hold practical classes on anatomy. Many of them also allegedly lack proper labs needed to hold pathology classes.
The main possessions of these medical colleges in most cases are the libraries which are also not so resourceful like those at the government medical colleges. The greatest inadequacy seems to be in the area of practical training. In the government medical colleges, the attached hospitals provide training facilities for acquiring practical knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of illnesses.
Medical education and training must be foolproof with no room for concession or compromise. Medical education is a vital area because life and physical well-being of the ailing people are dependent on the doctors.
Statistics is not available on the number of students coming out from these private medical colleges. How many of them can be treated at par with their counterparts from government run medical colleges having much better teaching facilities? It is imperative that the gap should be bridged.
Private medical colleges should be immediately asked to improve their standards fully or face penalties including closure. They may be given deadlines to do this.
Those who have already got their degrees from the privately run medical colleges should be identified and required to go through a certain period of internship with the public sector teaching hospitals and universities to make up for the gaps in skill and knowledge.
OUT of 35 private sector-run medical colleges in the country, many are, reportedly, medical colleges in name only. The operating licences to 25 of them were allegedly given on political considerations or under the influence of powerful quarters. The needed criteria were hardly fulfilled while approvals for opening the colleges were given.
How many of them fulfilled the initial requirements, including the infrastructure needed to qualify as higher centres of medical education is an open question. Not many of them do have hospitals within or near the campus though such facilities are indispensable for a medical college. These colleges lack qualified and experienced doctors needed to teach and train medical students.
Lacking morgues and dissection units and other needed paraphernalia, many of these colleges cannot hold practical classes on anatomy. Many of them also allegedly lack proper labs needed to hold pathology classes.
The main possessions of these medical colleges in most cases are the libraries which are also not so resourceful like those at the government medical colleges. The greatest inadequacy seems to be in the area of practical training. In the government medical colleges, the attached hospitals provide training facilities for acquiring practical knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of illnesses.
Medical education and training must be foolproof with no room for concession or compromise. Medical education is a vital area because life and physical well-being of the ailing people are dependent on the doctors.
Statistics is not available on the number of students coming out from these private medical colleges. How many of them can be treated at par with their counterparts from government run medical colleges having much better teaching facilities? It is imperative that the gap should be bridged.
Private medical colleges should be immediately asked to improve their standards fully or face penalties including closure. They may be given deadlines to do this.
Those who have already got their degrees from the privately run medical colleges should be identified and required to go through a certain period of internship with the public sector teaching hospitals and universities to make up for the gaps in skill and knowledge.