‘Gross deficiencies’: Why Jammu’s Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute lost MBBS nod amid admission row

The board clarified that no admitted student will lose an MBBS seat due to the withdrawal decision.

Weeks after a row over the admission of 46 Muslim students at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence in Reasi, Jammu and Kashmir, the National Medical Commission (NMC) on Tuesday withdrew the Letter of Permission (LoP) to run the MBBS course with 50 seats for the academic year 2025–26 over non-compliance with minimum standards.

Sangharsh Samiti students sit outside Civil Secretariat to protest against the alleged grant of majority seats in MBBS to Muslim students, at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence, in Jammu on Tuesday. (ANI)

The board rolled back permission for the medical college citing reasons including inadequate infrastructure, insufficient clinical material, shortage of qualified full-time teaching faculty and inadequate number of resident doctors, HT reported earlier. In its notice, the board said that it had been receiving complaints of lack of proper infrastructure and faculty over the past couple of weeks, following which a surprise physical inspection was conducted “verify the veracity of the complaints.”

"The assessment report submitted by the team established that the complaints were true and substantiated. The deficiencies observed were gross and substantial in nature,” NMC said.

The NMC said the 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.

However, regarding the students who had secured admission at the medical college, board clarified no admitted student will lose an MBBS seat due to the withdrawal decision. Instead, they will be adjusted in other recognised medical colleges in Jammu and Kashmir over and above their regular sanctioned intake.

“To safeguard the interests of the students already admitted for the academic year 2025–26, the state/UT authorities have been authorised to accommodate such students in other medical institutions within the union territory, as supernumerary seats, in accordance with applicable norms,” it concluded.

The implementation of this relocation will rest with the Union Territory's designated health and counselling authorities, who have been formally informed of the decision through copies of the order.

Highlights of the board report:

Here is what the board said in its assessment:

• Thirty nine percent deficiency in teaching faculty and a 65% deficiency in tutors, demonstrators and senior residents against the prescribed requirement.
• The patient load and clinical services far below norms, with OPD attendance of 182 at 1 pm against the required 400 and bed occupancy at 45% against the required 80%
• Intensive care units reportedly had only about 50% average bed occupancy, while the average number of deliveries was approximately 25 per month, which the MARB termed “grossly deficient”, PTI reported.
• No student practical laboratories in some departments and the research laboratory.
• Lecture theatres did not conform to the minimum standard requirements, the library had only 744 books against a requirement of 1,500 and just two journals against the 15 required.
• Absence of an ART centre and facilities for the management of MDR-TB, as well as gross infrastructure deficiencies in some departments, including the lack of separate male and female wards.
• Only two operation theatres functional against the requirement of five. No minor OT in the OPD area and the equipment for para-clinical subjects was deemed inadequate.
• The board cited Chapter V (Sanction and Penalty), Regulation 29 of the "Establishment of Medical Institutions, Assessment and Rating Regulations, 2023", which treats non-compliance by a medical college as an offence liable to be penalised.

Row over admission to Muslims students

The university had come under intense backlash from locals and some Hindu organisations a few weeks ago over the admission of 46 Muslim students out of a total of 50 in the maiden batch for MBBS course at the medical college.

The protesters demanded reservation to Hindu candidates on the grounds that the medical college was made and being largely run out of donations of Hindu devotees at Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

Earlier on Tuesday, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah had asked the BJP government adjust the students to other medical colleges and close the newly opened medical college to end the controversy as he accused the BJP for communal politics on education, sports and food habits.

“The children passed exams and secured seats on their hard work. None did any favour to them. If you don’t want them there then adjust them somewhere else," the chief minister said.

“In the given scenario, I don’t feel that students themselves would like to study there. We request GOI and the health ministry to adjust these children in other colleges. Had I been a parent of these students, I wouldn’t have sent them. We wouldn’t want them to study where there’s so much politics,” he added. “Give our children another medical college and close that medical college (Vaishno Devi). We don’t need such a medical college. Adjust these children in good government medical colleges,” he further said.

Last week, Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Sangharsh Samiti had called for an intensified agitation through “Sanatan Jagran Yatra” and a signature campaign to press the government for rescinding first admission list to MBBS course and ensure admission to only Hindu candidates in Shri Mata Vaishno Devi medical college.

As the NMC visited the medical college on Sunday, convenor of the group (retired) Sukhvir Singh Mankotia said the surprise visit infused enthusiasm among the people.

With inputs from Ravi Krishnan Khajuria