MCI pulls up Mumbai varsity

In a letter to the MMC registrar dated March 7, 1997, deputy secretary, MCI, Dr K K Arora said no one has the jurisdiction of condoning the internship training programme. In a letter to Jairam Chavan, former university registrar, the MMC registrar said, “It has been felt that the university has erred in considering 75 per cent attendance as a parameter for condoning. Internship is not studentship, but a complete professional training pre-requisite for permanent registration as medical practitioner.”

This means the letters issued by the university to the condoned students are invalid. These students will now have to compensate for their absence by working as interns for the period during which they were absent.

Though a committee headed by the dean, faculty of medicine, has been set up to amend this ordinance to comply with MCI regulations, MCI has made it clear that that no amendment or alteration would be acceptable and no such ordinance should be issued in future.

Meanwhile, on October 20, the Bombay High Court ordered that the internship of two students who moved the court be condoned up to 53 days. The rest of the students will have to abide by the 30-day period. Said Mumbai University’s Vice Chancellor Dr Snehalata Deshmukh said, “We have written to the MCI stating that this sort of condoning will not be repeated next year. The internship period was first condoned then to ensure that the students were not victimised. The MCI and the MMC did not object in the past.”