The students and faculty members of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence are troubled by a haunting question — how did the facility-rich college fail the inspection by the National Medical Commission (NMC)?
Last week, the NMC withdrew the letter of permission granted to the college to run an MBBS course for 50 students, effectively shutting down the institute in the short run. A group of students told the media in Jammu that they were baffled by the NMC decision.
Ayesha, one of the disappointed students, said they were unlikely to find such facilities in any college in Jammu and Kashmir. “We have great memories of the college,” she said.
Another student said the college had four cadavers and every student got an opportunity for dissection. “The library had a good collection of books, and the environment was great. There was no dearth of equipment. The teachers were compassionate,” she said.
A senior faculty member told The Telegraph that the NMC team could have easily ignored the deficiencies. “That is because they were transient deficiencies. For instance, a building was coming up to upgrade the number of beds in six months. The inspection was done when half of the faculty was on vacation. They should have considered that,” the doctor said.
The faculty member said the letter of permission was granted in February last year, and they were given no time to make up for the deficiencies. “No college has 100 per cent facilities. They straightway revoked the letter of permission. They could have asked for
clarifications.”
The 467-bed super-speciality hospital was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016 with much fanfare.