College’s future uncertain, pupils refuse to deposit fee

Balwant Garg

Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 12

At least 148 MBBS students of Chintpurni Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) are at loggerheads with the college management on payment of their tuition fee.

While the college has fixed July 15 as the last date for the payment of tuition fee and issuance of the roll number to the students for the final examinations of the third year of the MBBS course, the parents of these students today submitted a representation to the Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), demanding a moratorium on the fee payment till the decision about the “closure” of the CMCH.

As the final decision on the show-cause notice served upon on this college by the Department of Medical Education and Research (DMER) is pending and the Medical Council of India (MCI) and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare have already barred this college from making new admissions for two years, therefore the fate of this college and the students was uncertain, said the parents in their representation to the medical university today.

On May 3 this year, the DMER had issued a notice to the college with a warning to withdraw the Essentiality Certificate and No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the medical college failing to comply with the MCI and Punjab Government rules and regulations in the functioning of the medical college.

The MCI and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare debarred the CMCH from making admission on MBBS seats for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 batches.

The CMCH has only 148 students of 2014-2015 batch.

“As the college is facing uncertainty, we want the management to extend the date of fee deposit till the final decision on the notice, but the college management is adamant and want the students to deposit the fee by July 15,” said the parents in their representation.

The college has threatened the students of not issuing the roll numbers if the fee were not deposited before July 15.

However, CMCH Principal RPS Boparai claimed that the students and their parents were raising unnecessary hue and cry. Show-cause notice to the college has nothing to do with the fee payment, said the principal.

Dr Raj Bahadur, Vice-Chancellor, BFUHS, said, “The university has nothing to do with the fee in CMCH. After the issuance of show-cause notice to the CMCH, the matter is pending with the MCI and the Union Ministry of Health. We have asked the students and their parents to approach the MCI and the Union Ministry to take further directions in this regard.”