The government medical college in Kochi could be put under
private ownership while retaining its self-governing status. An expert
committee that had been constituted by the government made this recommendation.
It has been alleged that the recommendation has been made in
order to help doctors and staff retain their positions in the medical
college. The government had formed the
expert committee in order to review service norms in the college that was taken
over from the cooperative sector. The minutes of the meeting of the expert
committee that met on the 24th of February has been sourced by a private media .
There are indications that the new move would benefit vested
interests in the private sector.
The expert panel has apparently recommended self governance
for the college because there is parity in promotion norms for doctors who were
directly enrolled under the cooperative department and those who were
enrolled under the Medical Education
department. The committee has also gone on to explain how the college should
meet its funding needs from fees collected from students.
There are allegations that when the college was under the
cooperative department, appointments were made flouting norms and rules. The
new move is expected to allow status quo for those who have attained high
positions in the college through allegedly dubious means.
