Students protest ESIC's decision to shut its medical colleges

The students of the medical colleges run by Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) today held a silent protest against the Corporation's decision to shut its medical colleges.
Stating that running medical colleges is not its core function, the Corporation has expressed its inability to meet the objectives to establish medical colleges and training institutes to serve the insured and non-insured persons of the ESIC scheme.
The students, estimated to be 1000 in number, claim that due to the ESIC's order, the faculties and administrative staff have already tendered their resignations which is a reason the recognition of Medical Council of India (MCI) could be withdrawn.

"Every medical college has to have a required number of students, teachers and administrative staff to get recognised by the MCI. But due to the ESIC decision all the faculties have started leaving the institutions," Chandra Mohan, president of the ESIC students association, told IANS.
"If the MCI withdraws its recognition, non of the students are going to get any a medical degree," he added.
The students will also stage a protest at Jantar Mantar tomorrow.

During the meet, it was decided that the ongoing medical colleges should be handed over to state governments willing for such a transfer.
"The ESIC should exit the field of medical education entirely as it is not the core function of the ESIC and other objectives are unlikely to be met," said the order issued at an ESIC meet held on Dec 4.

Though it has been running hospitals under the scheme for the purpose, the ESI Act was amended in 2010 to allow it to set up medical colleges. Presently, 13 such institutions are in various stages of construction.
Currently, the corporation runs seven medical colleges including a dental college in north Delhi's Rohini area, with few others in various stages of construction. They are estimated to be over Rs.10,000 crore.