Amid massive protests and demonstrations by many Hindu organizations, the Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission took major action against Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The permission given to the medical college has been withdrawn because it did not follow the required minimum standards.
In the order issued by MARB, it was said that all the students taking admission in medical colleges during counseling for the academic year 2025-26 will be adjusted on supernumerary seats in other medical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir by the competent authority of the Union Territory Administration. This order of the board has brought great relief to the students who have taken admission.
This means that any student taking admission will not have to lose his MBBS seat due to de-recognition of the college. However, they will have to go to study in other recognized medical colleges of Jammu and Kashmir. They will be adjusted against their regular sanctioned seats in colleges. The responsibility of implementing this relocation will rest with the designated health and counseling officers of the Union Territory, who have been formally informed about the decision along with copies of the order.
Under the NMC notices issued on December 5, 2024 and December 19, 2024, the Reasi-based medical college had applied to establish a new medical college with 50 MBBS seats for the academic year 2025-26. Taking action on the application, MARB issued permission letter to start MBBS course on 8th September last year.
Although a number of conditions were imposed on the medical college at the time of granting the permission, MARB reserved the right to withdraw or cancel the permission in case of misrepresentation, non-compliance or non-compliance with regulatory norms.
After the permission letter was issued, NMC received several complaints regarding inadequate infrastructure, clinical material and qualified full-time teaching faculty and resident doctors in the college. In the complaint, poor arrangements for the patients were also pointed out.
Acting under Section 28(7) of the National Medical Commission Act, 2019, which empowers the MARB to conduct surprise inspections of medical institutions without any prior notice, a team of investigators inspected the medical college on January 2. During inspection he found many flaws. In its report, the team highlighted several shortcomings in the college regarding the number of faculty, clinical material and infrastructure.
As compared to the prescribed standards, there was a 39 percent shortage in the teaching faculty in the college and a 65 percent shortage in tutors, demonstrators and senior residents. Similarly, the number of patients and clinical services were also far below the norms, there were 182 patients in the OPD at 1 pm, whereas there should have been 400. Similarly, the bed occupancy was also only 45 percent, whereas it should have been 80 percent.
According to the report, on an average only 50 per cent of intensive care unit (ICU) beds were occupied, while about 25 deliveries took place every month, which MARB considered “very low”. In some departments, practical labs and research labs were not available to the students. Even the lecture theaters were far below the minimum standards. Instead of 1,500 books, there were only 744 books in the library, similarly against the required 15 important magazines, only 2 magazines were available.
Meanwhile, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti was continuously protesting against Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Medical Institute. The committee had reached Jammu Secretariat yesterday on Tuesday, where heavy police force was deployed. The committee demanded that this college should be closed soon.
There was a controversy for several months regarding the distribution of medical seats in the college. Out of the total 50 MBBS seats in the college, 42 seats were given to Muslim students while 7 seats were given to Hindu students and one seat was given to Sikh students. Hindu organizations were continuously protesting. He said that about 90% of the batch is from the valley and this is wrong.
The protests started when Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) released the list of 50 candidates for Maa Vaishno Devi Medical Institute, out of which 42 were from Kashmir and 8 from Jammu. Of these, 36 students from Kashmir and 3 from Jammu have already taken admission.
Expressing concern over the admission of Muslim students from Kashmir in the medical college established by Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, the protesters said that it should be closed immediately. The offerings made by Hindu devotees across the country should be used only for the development of Hindu temples and upliftment of the members of that community. He said the money donated by Hindu pilgrims should not be spent on running commercial institutions like medical colleges or hospitals, where “lakhs of rupees” are charged from students and patients.
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Sangharsh Samiti, a group of around 60 pro-Sangh Parivar organizations including Sanatan Dharam Sabha, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, was formed to lead the movement against the admission of Kashmiri Muslim students in the newly established SMVDIME near Katra.
Amid the controversy over colleges and admission of Muslim students, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said, "The children passed the exams with their hard work and got seats. No one did them any favor. If you do not want them there, then adjust them somewhere else."
He also said, "In this situation, I do not think that the children themselves would want to study there. We request the Central Government and the Health Ministry to adjust these students in other colleges. If I were the parents of these children, I would not send them there. We would not want them to study in a place where there is so much politics."
Talking about sending them to other colleges, the CM said, "Give our children some other medical college and close that medical college (Maa Vaishno Devi). We do not need such medical colleges. Adjust these children in good government medical colleges."
