JIPMER should not be turned into autonomous body: Jaya to Prez

New Delhi, Sep 21 (UNI) Ms J Jayalalithaa, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and AIADMK supremo, has urged President A P J Abdul Kalam not to allow conversion of Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, into an autonomous body as the move would result in an exponential hike in tuition fees for students and commercialisation of medical education.

''The tuition fees for the students are very meagre as on date and it will grow exponentially to several lakhs per year. In short, education will be completely commercialised,'' Ms Jayalalitha said in a letter to Dr Kalam.

Further, not a single paisa was being collected for over 25 medical tests, including CABG and double value and replacement which costs Rs 9,000 at AIIMS, New Delhi, and PIGMER, Chandigarh, TMT-ballon coronary angioplasty (Rs 3,500), at JIPMER, she said in the five-page letter dated September 19 but made available to the press today.

Also, the present allocation of 20 seats for Pondicherry students out of the 75 seats would no longer exist, she said and added that the present move would result in the running of JIPMER by a panel of 22 members, ''mainly consisting of politicians belonging to the political family,'' apparently hinting at the ruling DMK.

In view of all these reasons, the attempt to conver JIPMER into an autonomous body ''may kindly be dropped in the wider interests of the public and the poorer sections of the people,'' she said.

UNI SN PR VV1801