SHILLONG: There is a big question mark over the future of the MBBS students in NEIGRIHMS.
With the administration unable to take pro-active action to improve the faculty strength in the Institute, there are very little chances of improving the functioning of the Institute in the immediate future.
Documents available with the press show an acute shortage of faculty across departments.
The Medical Council of India (MCI), stipulates that there should be a total of six faculty members in the General Medicine department including one professor, two associate professors and three assistant professors but at present there is only one assistant professor in the department.
In Surgery, there is total requirement of six faculty members (one professor, two associate professors and three assistant professors) but at present there is only one professor and one assistant professor.
In Anatomy, Physiology, Pharmacology, Forensic Medicine, Community Medicine, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology and Bio-Chemistry, there should have been three faculty members (one professor, one associate professor and one assistant professor) in each of these departments.
But at present, in all these departments, there is only one faculty to teach the first, second and third year MBBS students.
As per the documents it is found that so far there is no Dentistry department in NEIGRHIMS.
If the Dentistry department is launched there would be a requirement of one professor and one reader.
It is learnt that the faculty members at present are taking on the job of five doctors both attending to the patients and giving lectures to students which is humanly impossible.
According to the MCI criteria, a medical institute has to have a minimum of 69 faculty members. But NEIGRIHMS has only 29 faculty members at present, the students said.
Interestingly, the Institute started with 34 faculty members but in the past three years the numbers have fallen instead of increasing, the students said.
Strike enters 3rd day: The NEIGHRIHMS MBBS students, on the third day of their indefinite strike, held peaceful demonstrations in the campus on Wednesday.
It is learnt that the Director, Dr ME Yeolekar has called the students for a meeting to discuss their demands on Thursday.
When contacted, the students confirmed that they are going to meet the Director.
Asked if they would continue with their strike, the students said it would depend on the outcome of the meeting.
Meanwhile, the students were still not allowed to enter the administrative block so they gathered in full strength in the OPD.
The students had begun their indefinite strike since Monday by suspending all academic activities.
They have been forced into this unfortunate situation by the appalling lack of concern of the administration to increase the faculty strength for the past three years since the MBBS course was started in the Institute.