Up to 36 students of Padmashree Dr DY Patil Medical College in Mauritius returned to India on June 23. The students had been enrolled in an undergraduate medical course akin to MBBS in August 2013. "For the past three months, no classes have been conducted at the Mauritius campus. Our clinical training in the hospital was expected to start last year.
A ruckus broke out outside politician DY Patil's residence at Worli after about sixty protesting students and parents were arrested by the Mumbai police, hauled inside police vans and taken to detention on Friday.
Up to 36 students of Padmashree Dr DY Patil Medical College in Mauritius returned to India on June 23. The students had been enrolled in an undergraduate medical course akin to MBBS in August 2013. "For the past three months, no classes have been conducted at the Mauritius campus. Our clinical training in the hospital was expected to start last year. Moreover, there were no human cadavers in the medical college to dissect. All of this has left us disillusioned and we have returned to seek answers," said Deepti Tyagi (20), a student from the first batch enrolled at the college. An under-graduate medical student has to complete a minimum 5,000 hours of practicals to get the degree.
Less than a month ago, the college in Mauritius underwent a change of management. One of the founders of the college, who did not wish to be quoted, said that management of the college has been handed over to AR Johari, who is currently holding the post of Director, in the college under alleged political pressure. Johari also runs Anna Medical College in Mauritius. "We had the option of closing the college or handing it over to another management. Twenty days ago, there was a change of management."
For up to a year, the college did not have any permission from the Government of Mauritius or any affiliation with the local hospitals to conduct clinical training for its students. On Friday, the management said that permissions for conducting clinicals in J Nehru Hospital had been obtained from the Mauritian government this week.
Parents of harrowed students had demanded that the 36 students, who are left in the lurch after having spent two years of their academics in Mauritius, be accomodated in the Indian campuses of DY Patil group in Navi Mumbai, Kolhapur and Pune.
Satej Patil of the education group said that such a possibility is absurd. "We cannot accommodate students from a foreign campus in India. Rules for medical education in Maharashtra demand that they should appear for a Common Entrance Test to seek admission. How can they be arbitrarily accommodated?" said Patil.
The medical college in Mauritius was started by DY Patil World Wide Limited at the behest of ex-Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam. After Ramgoolam's government was toppled in December 2014, the college got into trouble. In a cabinet decision taken in January 2015, the incumbent Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth instructed the college not to admit new batches.
The Mauritian cabinet observed that the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), the University of Technology (UTM), which is the awarding body of the degree, the Medical Council of Mauritius and the Ministry of Health had failed to rigorously monitor compliance with the agreements signed with DY Patil Worldwide Limited.
There is no accreditation for batches enrolled after 2014 from the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) of Mauritius. "Eventually, 77 students of the second and third batch asked for refund of fees, which was given to them, and they pulled out of the course to return to India," said Patil.
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