The college halved MBBS admission fees to facilitate entry of 50 meritorious students
Dubai/Trivandrum/ New Delhi: Even as private medical colleges in India have earned notoriety for preferring money to merit, there is one DM WIMS which showed exceptional gesture by shunning money.
This medical college of Aster DM Healthcare in Wayanadu in Kerala let go 15 crore of rupees to facilitate admission of 50 meritorious students in MBBS course indicating that its avowed aim is to produce good quality doctors rather than minting money and promoting mediocrity. It is when this newly established college is running at a huge loss.
It is quite in keeping with culture of quality and compassion that permeates the entire ecosystem of its hospitals, medical colleges and pharmacies. Lure of lucre has never been the intent of Dr. Azad Moopen, the benign Keralite NRI health honcho in Dubai. The fresh gesture of missing money for merit speaks a volume about his core values.
The college said tears of joy in the eyes of the students more than compensated for the missed money.
50 students with very high NEET ranks breathed a sigh of relief on August 30 when they secured admission to coveted MBBS course at the DM WIMS (Wayanadu Institute of Medical Sciences) Medical College at annual fee of Rs 5 lakh. The KEAM ranks of the 50 eligible students allotted by Commissioner of Entrance Examinations are between 1998 and 4889.
Dr Moopen’s Foundation announced that these 50 students need not provide bank guarantee and can study at the Annual Fees of Rs 5 lakhs for a period of 5 years, irrespective of the fee being fixed later by authorities. This concession will be funded by the Foundation which shall have an impact of up to Rs 3 crores per annum and Rs 15 Crores over 5 years , if the fee of 11 lakhs is fixed later by the Fee Regulatory committee and the Honourable Courts.
Commenting on this rare gesture, Dr Azad Moopen, Chairman of Dr Moopen’s Foundation said, “We are very happy that we could make the life’s dream of 50 meritorious students of becoming doctors fulfilled. I was saddened seeing the tears in the eyes of the students and their parents who were earlier denied admission and sought help. The decision by the Hon High court of Kerala to allow admission mitigating the hardships meted out by the MCI against us came at the right time. The request by the Hon Chief Minister Sri Pinarayi Vijayan and the Health Minister Smt Shylaja Teacher also promoted this, in spite of the fact that this newly established college is running at huge loss in the last 5 years”
“Most of the students who had selected options in the first rounds of allotment were unable to join the course when the fee was raised to Rs 11 lakhs by Hon Supreme Court with bank guarantee of 6 lakhs. We found them rushing to our counter with their happy parents to avail the concession and seats were filled within few hours,” said Anoop Moopen , Trustee of the Foundation.
