ESI Medical Colleges Not To Get Closed

ESI Medical Colleges Not To Get Closed

ESI management ultimately has decided not to close the medical colleges.

IMA has been fighting for the cause of 1300 ESI medical students. IMA wrote to Indian President, Prime Minister, Health Minister and Labor Minister. IMA also raised the issue with MCI & Member of Parliaments.

“It's a victory of medical profession said Dr A Marthanda Pillai, National President, Indian Medical Association and Padma Shri Awardee Dr K K Aggarwal, President of Heart Care Foundation of India and the Honorary Secretary General of Indian Medical Association".

There was no reason for the government to have allowed closure of medical colleges when there is already a shortage of medical seats.

As per his new decision ESIC would continue with already running three Medical Colleges at Karnataka, Chennai, and Kolkata and one Dental College at Delhi. Ongoing PG courses would also continue on similar lines. However ESIC will not undertake any more Medical Education Projects. ESIC will focus on its core function of providing social security to insured persons.

There are 8 more medical Colleges are under construction.

The core function of ESIC is to provide medical benefit to the insured persons under the ESI Scheme. The ESI Corporation in its 163rd meeting took a decision to exit from Medical Education and, a decision in this regard was communicated to all concerned in January, 2015. This decision had fully protected the interest of student and most of other stakeholders. However, the students continued to have some apprehensions in this regard. Several representations from Member of Parliaments, present of students, public representatives and general public were received. In the 164th meeting of the Corporation also, it was reiterated that the interests of the students as well as the insured Persons should be protected. Therefore, a revised Circular was issued that ESIC would continue to admit students at its already running four Medical Colleges and one Dental College.

ESIC is continuing its efforts to transfer other Medical College projects to state Governments concerned. If they do not take up the project then effort will be made to run these Medical Colleges under PPP Model etc.

In Faridabad, Hyderabad and Coimbatore the State Governments may run these Medical Colleges with attached Hospitals as ESI Hospital. In case favorable response from these State Governments is not received ESIC would run these Medical Colleges either in PPP model or in its own.

In Gulburga, the Medical College is running under a tie-up arrangement with the State Government Hospital. The ESIC shall continue to admit students at the Medical College. The State Government has been requested to take over this college. If the response of the State Government is not favorable, ESIC would examine to run the college in PPP mode.

The colleges at Mandi, Alwar, Paripally and Patna are targeted to be taken over by state Government. If the response of the State Government is not favorable, ESIC would examine to run these institutions in PPP model, failing which the assets may be divested.

One of the important conditions of transfer of Medical Colleges is that the ESI insured persons should continue to get treatment in these hospitals in cashless manner.

The proposed ESIC Medical College project in Basaidarapur, Delhi, would be, modified into a Centre of Excellence for proving enhanced secondary care as well as Super Speciality Treatment facility for ESI beneficiaries.

ESIC will neither set up any other Medical College nor any other new Medical Education Institution.