Private medical colleges

The privatisation of education institutions has not gone as well as hoped. It was hoped that these institutions would step in and provide opportunity to the vast swathes of the population thirsting for higher education and that the nation would itself be well served by a boost in the number of graduates. However, low standards and scant oversight continue to plague the private sector educational institutions.

This is precisely what is happening with the private medical colleges. Except, here the damage to society is even greater. The health and welfare of the people of the country are being compromised and this calls for greater government supervision.

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The problem is two-fold. The first is that many of the duly authorised private medical institutions remain below standard and are unable to impart quality education to their students. The government must ensure that these institutions meet standards and that if they do not that they are shut down so as not to flood the market with unqualified graduates.

The second problem is several institutions exist only to take money from those who are desperate to receive a medical education but cannot find a berth at a reputable one due to lack of space. Some do offer rudimentary instruction, but far below what are needed. For instance, many of these do not operate under an approved curriculum and cannot offer internship opportunities.

For the sake of the students who are receiving a worthless education as well as the general public who must be ministered to by these under-qualified practitioners, the government must hold the wayward private medical college establishment accountable.