To increase the government's share of seats in medical education, a state government-appointed committee has suggested it convert its district hospitals into medical colleges through public private partnership (PPP) with parties like societies, trusts or not-for-profit companies.
In return, the government will get a quota of 25% seats in these medical colleges for admission at nominal fees and an equal number of patients in the affiliated hospital will be treated free of cost under various government schemes. To cross-subsidise these government medical college seats, the private party will be earmarked 15% of the annual intake of students as an NRI quota for which higher fees will be charged as compensation.
Admission to the remaining seats can take place through NEET and the remaining (75%) patients in the hospital can be treated at subsidised cost, if not government rates.
In March, the government had set up a four-member committee led by Dr Vedprakash Mishra, chancellor, Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Karad. The committee was to examine how government medical colleges could be established through the PPP model in districts sans these institutions by upgrading district hospitals to teaching colleges without making the state incur a heavy financial burden.
"The PPP model will definitely give the desired fillip to the government to open new medical colleges commensurate with the need and requirement of the state with least financial burden as compared to any other model in vogue for the said purpose," said the committee report.
It has estimated that the government will stand to gain Rs256 crore in 10 years through medical admission quotas and free medical facilities for various schemes.
"In terms of the illustration availed by the committee by an appropriate extrapolation of financial receipts and expenditures with regard to a medical college in the mode of PPP… the extent of admissions that can be availed by the state under its quota could be 25% of the total admissions annually and 25% of the patient care in the affiliated hospital of the said medical college vide transferring a 300-bedded district hospital to the society/trust or company concerned with a rider that 15% of the annual intake should be earmarked as the NRI quota towards which a higher chargeable fee would be compensating for the fee charged against 25% government quota as a cross-subsidy mode," the report added.
"We have worked out a financial model in which we have said (how) the Rs60 crore contribution of the government by transferring the hospital can be protected," Mishra, who is also the chairman of the Medical Council of India's academic sub-committee, told dna. He added that to compensate the subsidised government fee, the college would be permitted to have a 15% NRI quota. The remaining 60% of seats could be filled via NEET.
At present, Maharashtra has a total of 16 government medical colleges.
Post graduate seats for the academic year 2016-17
(Degree courses)
Government: 612
BMC: 444
Central government institutions: 83
Total: 1,139
(In addition 261 diploma seats are also offered in these institutions)
MBBS intake capacity:
State government: 16 colleges: 2,300
Municipal Corporations: Five colleges: 610
Central government: Two colleges: 240
Unaided/ Private: 15 colleges: 1,770
Minority unaided: One college: 100
Deemed universities: 10 colleges: 1,675
Total: 6,695 seats
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