As the administration at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) asked students on Wednesday morning to leave for their homes, hours after the National Medical Council withdrew permission to run an MBBS course there, this was the common refrain among those who studied, taught at, and managed the institute.
“We have the best infrastructure – from operation theatres to libraries – as compared to many government medical colleges across Jammu and Kashmir,” a student said, attributing the NMC decision to “politics outside the campus”.
The student was referring to protests by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti, a group of nearly 60 pro-RSS and pro-BJP organisations, which have been opposing admission of Muslim students at the institute. Of the 50 students in the college’s first-ever MBBS batch, 44 were Muslim.
The Samiti had been demanding that students from Kashmir be moved to other colleges in the UT, saying that SMVDIME had been set up using offerings made at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine by Hindu pilgrims from across the country.
Faculty members alleged this agitation had influenced the NMC’s decision. According to them, a January 2 inspection, based on which the NMC withdrew its Letter of Permission (LoP) granted to SMVDIME to run an MBBS course for the 2025-26 session, was conducted at a 15-minute notice, and the inspection team appeared to have made up its mind even before it reached the institute.
“We have been asked to vacate the hostel and stay at home until the government takes a call on our future,” a student said. “We do not want to leave even if we get adjusted in a government college, which every medical candidate aims for and which will save us money. The facilities, infrastructure and care we got here won’t be available even in J&K’s top medical colleges.”
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For instance, a woman student recalled falling ill recently and missing the practicals, only for the faculty to ensure she got another chance to learn: “Ma’am explained what I had missed during dissection. She held my hand and guided me.”
The NMC decision
Late on Tuesday, the NMC, while withdrawing the LoP, cited alleged deficiencies in its infrastructure, including faculty strength and clinical material.
It said that the students admitted to the course based on their NEET results will be accommodated in other government institutions within the UT as supernumerary seats.
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The NMC had given the college permission to conduct the MBBS course, admitting 50 students, in September last year, after a detailed inspection by its team of experts.
The January 2 surprise inspection was conducted after complaints that the college lacked the infrastructure to run a medical course. “The assessment report submitted by the team of assessors conclusively established that the complaints were true and substantiated. The deficiencies observed were gross and substantial. Continuation of the institution under such circumstances would have seriously jeopardised the quality of medical education and adversely affected the academic interests of the students,” a Union Health Ministry official claimed.
The NMC made a range of claims to justify its decision. These include a 39 per cent deficiency in teaching faculty; a 65 per cent shortage of tutors, demonstrators, and senior residents; the outpatient department recording fewer than 50 per cent of patients; bed occupancy of 45 per cent; and ICU bed occupancy of 50 per cent.
It also claimed that practical laboratories and research labs were not available in some departments, lecture theatres did not meet minimum standard requirements, and library resources were far below norms, with only 50 per cent of books available against the required number and just two journals against a requirement of 15.
The counter
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But on the campus, college officials described the NMC report as a “farce”.
Members of the administration and the faculty told The Indian Express that the decision was directly linked to protests by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti. While the Samiti initially pushed for the shifting of Muslim students out, it later changed tack. After finding that their demand may not be met in the absence of any precedent, they started seeking closure of the medical college altogether.
“The NMC team put the number of books in our library at 75, while there are 2,713 books. According to them, we have only two journals (hard copies), while there are 480 journals, apart from 392 national e-journals and 9,900 foreign e-journals,” claimed an official.
“They talk of an absence of separate wards for male and female patients, even though there are separate rooms for all indoor patients. Their report talks about the institute having two operation theatres when there are, in fact, eight,” said the official.
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“The NMC team arrived at the medical college on January 2, in the middle of the December 15-January 15 winter vacation, when nearly 50 per cent of the faculty had either left or were planning to leave the campus. We got a call from NMC only 15 minutes before their arrival, and we cooperated as we had nothing to hide,” an official claimed.
The team visited the hospital and reported that only 181 patients visited the OPD on that day, even though 405 patients were examined there on January 2, the official claimed. Likewise, there were 175 IPDs (indoor patients), which comes to 79 per cent of the total bed strength, while the NMC team put it at 45 per cent, he claimed.
The team concluded that there were only 25 deliveries in a month, but did not factor in the fact that the number of people visiting the institute dips around the New Year. “The team appeared predetermined to withdraw the LoP right from the moment they arrived on the campus,” the official said.
“We know that they wanted to assuage the demonstrators outside the campus, but you should not defame us by saying that we lacked infrastructure,” said a doctor.
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Many faculty members said they were dismayed since they had left lucrative jobs to come and work here. “Did the NMC think about us before deciding to withdraw the LoP?” a doctor asked.
The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board had decided to set up the medical college at a cost of Rs 350 crore. With civil work still underway, nearly half of the money has been spent on the infrastructure already raised on the campus.
By Wednesday afternoon, two scenes could be seen playing out at the institute. Inside, anxious students and dismayed faculty spoke in hushed tones of what the future holds. Outside, members of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangarsh Samiti distributed sweets and danced to drums, calling the NMC decision a victory for all who believe in Sanatan Dharma.
