By Sanu George, IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : With too many of its former students working in the US, the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi is in some ways subsidising American healthcare, says a public health expert here.
Speaking to IANS, C.R. Soman, who runs the medical NGO Health Action by People, said he was shocked by a recent report that appeared in the latest issue of the Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Of the 428 students of AIIMS who studied between 1989 and 2000 and were included in the study, 233 (54 percent) resided abroad, the report said. What’s more, there was hardly any gender difference in the migration rate.
The migration rate of scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students was at 29 percent, said Soman after analysing the article written by Manas Kaushik and other colleagues titled “High-end physician migration from India”.
Soman said admission to AIIMS came with a virtual guarantee that 54 percent of the successful candidates would end up in the West, of which 85 percent would be in the US.
AIIMS is the country’s best referral hospital and treats nearly 8,000 patients everyday. It is an autonomous body under the union health ministry, which takes care of its financial requirements but does not interfere in regular administrative matters.
As per information provided in the AIIMS and related websites, the total tuition and hostel fees at the institute were Rs.1,250 ($31.8) and Rs.1,500 ($38) respectively for the undergraduate course, he said.
“So in simple terms, for a mere $69, students get the finest medical education in the country with a guaranteed foreign tenure. Isn’t that shocking?” asked Soman, a former professor at the Medical College here.
“In effect, what AIIMS has been doing all these years is sending high quality undergraduates and post graduates medical education to serve countries like US, totally oblivious to the responsibility towards India’s health.”
For those who do not wish to take the first flight to the West, there is a sop – 33 percent of postgraduate seats are reserved for AIIMS alumni.
With about 300 postgraduate seats and only 50 undergraduate admissions, almost every student who passes out of this hallowed institution and does not go abroad is guaranteed postgraduate admission with a mere Rs.150 ($3.8) in annual fees.
AIIMS was set up under a special act of the Indian Parliament to serve as a model for undergraduate and postgraduate medical education to set an example for the other medical colleges in the country.
“This education comes with no strings attached like serving the country even for a day after completing medical education at AIIMS. At the same time, the out-migration rate from all medical colleges in the country is a mere 10 percent.
“It is time that the federal minister of health addresses such issues rather than indulge in petty fights involving the former director and his supporters,” said Soman.
Since it was founded in 1956 with a New Zealand government grant, AIIMS has admitted over 2,500 students for undergraduate training.
Speaking to IANS on condition of anonymity, a senior AIIMS faculty said that they know a lot of their students are going abroad and it’s certainly a concern for the institute, government and people in general.
“But we cannot stop someone from going abroad,” he told IANS.
“I would suggest, those who are getting subsidised training and education must pay for it before going abroad. If people are paying (in the form of tax) for these students’ education, then the authorities must formulate a guideline on getting back the amount spent on them,” he told IANS.