Jammu, Jan 8: J&K Minister for Health and Medical Education (HME) Sakina Itoo Thursday questioned the move of National Medical Commission (NMC) to “withdraw its Letter of Permission granted to SMVDIME after finding grave irregularities, which it (NMC) could not see earlier while granting its approval.”
“I could not understand the move of MCI (NMC). If they found some irregularities during their recent inspection of the medical college (SMVDIME), why did they not discover those shortcomings when they had granted the medical college (the Letter of Permission)?,” she threw a prickly poser, while responding to media queries, on the sidelines of a government function in Jammu.
Further criticising the NMC, Itoo said, “Even now they (NMC) could find those shortcomings only when an individual or a particular party criticised you as to why the Muslim students were given admission there. On that basis, the college was shut and its Letter of Permission withdrawn. Nothing could be more unfortunate than this.”
Regarding the affected students, she informed, “The Chief Minister had already given directions to relocate the disturbed children, who were mentally harassed, to the J&K Government Medical Colleges at their doorsteps. The Health Department is already working on it. God willing, as early as possible, it will be accomplished. I’ve given directions to the Secretary to expedite the process and put up a proposal at the earliest possible to alleviate the deep stress, anxiety, being suffered by those students for the past three or four months.”
While echoing the Chief Minister in criticising Sangharsh Samiti and others, Itoo stated it was unfortunate that they got a medical college, which was made available to J&K, shut down.
“Any part of Jammu and Kashmir with great difficulty gets a medical college, where the children, after qualifying NEET, secure admissions and complete their medical studies. But they got it shut down. It should not have happened. Rather, it should have been further strengthened so that J&K could get more doctors to serve its people,” she said.
“But if for a political game, this all has been done, in the name of religion, this is totally wrong,” Itoo opined, adding, “As regards those children who had secured admission there (in SMVDIME) – they were mentally depressed. As they were being targetted for long despite the fact they had secured admission after qualifying NEET and none had obliged them.”
The Minister for Health asserted that the medical students in J&K, like elsewhere, were also administered the Hippocratic Oath before they assumed their jobs as doctors.
“As doctors, they don’t treat their patients on the basis of their religion. They serve humanity. A doctor has no religion. Same children, after becoming doctors, would treat those also who opposed their admission. I believe that religion should not be brought into education. For politics, there may be several tools but using religion in the sphere of education is not correct,” Itoo asserted.
She said that her party National Conference never allowed it as it always believed in the philosophy propounded by the Sher-e-Kashmir, which reflected in his (Sheikh Abdullah’s) slogan delineating “…Hindu-Muslim-Sikh Ittehad” and would continue to do so.
