Shillong, Aug 2: Senior citizens of Tura have accused the State government of discrimination after its proposal to run the upcoming Tura Medical College under the public private partnership (PPP) model and not the Shillong Medical College.
The Tura Garo Senior Citizens Forum, which met recently to discuss the proposal, said they have waited too long expecting that the government would take favourable steps to shelve the proposal after numerous objections.
“If Shillong Medical College is worthy of a government-led, government-funded and government-run future, then so is Tura Medical College. Both colleges are being built with public money, public land for public good. To treat one as a flagship and the other as a franchise is not only discriminatory but also dangerous. It sends the message that Garo Hills is a second-tier region, undeserving of the same respect, attention and investment as the capital,” the forum said.
The senior citizens said they are grieved not only that the construction of the college was delayed but being eyed as a “business opportunity rather than a sacred public institution.”
“Why is Shillong Medical College being developed and launched as a fully public, government-run medical college, while the medical college in Tura, its sister project, is being handed over to private interests? Is Tura not equally deserving of public investment, public trust and public control,” the forum questioned.
The forum said that the government has failed to clarify who the private partner will be, how much control they will exercise and what guarantees exist to ensure equity, affordability and accountability.
While the idea of Tura Medical College & Hospital was mooted well before Shillong Medical College, the forum said the medical college in Shillong is now prepared to begin the academic session. “If the Government of Meghalaya can go to such lengths to ensure that Shillong gets a world class, fully public Medical College, then why is the same principle not being applied to Tura? Is there a separate standard for us, the people of Garo Hills? Has the Government already decided that our children are to be taught by contractors, charged exorbitantly by private operators, and governed not by academic councils but by profit motives,” it added.
Stating that it is not against private enterprise, the senior citizens said, “A medical college is not a mall. It is not a commercial plaza. It is a crucible of life-saving knowledge, a centre for healing and a hope for our people. Once it surrendered to private hands, that sacred mission would be compromised. Private players will come with their own priorities – cost cutting, revenue generation, control over curriculum and hiring – and in the process, the student becomes a customer and the patient becomes a price tag.”
The forum slammed Health Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh accusing of not making any commitments like she did on the Shillong Medical College to prioritise quality faculty, adequate infrastructure and fee regulation. “Why is she not making the same commitments for Tura? Is the life of a Garo student less valuable? Is our region less capable of producing competent doctors, teachers and administrators? Does Tura not deserve a Medical College Council of its own made up of our own doctors, teachers and elders?” the forum asked.
The forum vowed that it will continue to make noises for the dignity, identity and justice of the Garo Hills region and to not allow the future to be sold in the name of partnership.
