HC upholds quashing of guidelines issued by TN medical varsity

Updated on: Thursday, November 17, 2011

The Madras HC upheld a single bench's order quashing guidelines issued by Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical university pertaining to the pattern of evaluation of supplementary exams for final year MBBS students in Part-II, General Surgery.

Dismissing writ appeals against the single bench's order filed by the University and its Controller of Examinations, a pision bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam held that the impugned guideline had not achieved the object for which it was propounded.

The University had claimed that the change was aimed at improving the standard of medical students.

"We are conscious of the fact that in the recent past, there has been a raise in the number of claims made alleging deficiencies and lack of competence in the medical field. However, this could at no stretch of imagination be construed as a step to enhance academic standards," the bench said.

The judges also said that they should not be mistaken of advocating a principle that higher standards in medical education should not be put in place.

The University, which had been following the MCI rules till the 2008-09 academic year, subsequently introduced the impugned guidelines by piding the practical and clinical tests into Clinical Surgery Clinical (practical) and Ortho Clinical (practical).

According to MCI regulations, the total quantum of marks fixed for practical/clinical was 100.

The guidelines fixed the total marks at 150 and pided it into two - Clinical Surgery Clinical (practical) 100 marks with a minimum requirement of 50 marks and Ortho Clinical (practical) 50 marks with a minimum requirement of 25 marks for passing the test.

The bench pointed out that the procedure of applying the guidelines for the supplementary examination in August 2011, which was not applied for the main examination held in February last, did not satisfy the touchstone of Article 14 of the Constitution (Equality before law) and was sufficient to hold the action of the university as 'arbitrary'.

Holding that a change of curriculum could be a positive step leading to enhancement of standards, the judges said such a revision should, however, be pursuant to a consultative process where experts and all stakeholders need to be consulted.

They said an attempt had probably been made by introducing the impugned guidelines to compel students to acquaint themselves with a few chapters or subjects.

However, this could at no stretch of imagination be construed as a step to enhance academic standards, they said.

Referring to the University counsel's submission that for the past 20 years, students had been skipping Orthopaedics subject, the judges said if that was the case the question was where should the universities start the reformative process and how it should act to ensure that the entire curriculum and syllabus are covered by all candidates.

"This definitely requires an in-depth study of the entire procedure and not in the manner done by the appellant university, which prima facie appears to be a knee jerk action," the judges observed.

It would be advisable for the University in consultation with the MCI to address the issue in depth, the bench said, adding that "the impugned guidelines did not have any nexus to the object of enhancing the standards. They were repugnant to MCI regulations".

HC upholds quashing of guidelines issued by TN medical varsity

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