The Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in Puducherry may have announced putting on hold the proposed dual degree medical course combining MBBS and BAMS courses, but has not shelved it, according to a report by The New Indian Express.

Instead, JIPMER has formed internal committees to evaluate the proposal, prepared by the Auroville Foundation and announced by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare and AYUSH, Prataprao Jadhav, on May 27.

It will also seek the opinion of major stakeholders, including medical teachers, students, parents, and the National Medical Commission (NMC), which was earlier kept out of the loop.

JIPMER will also consult external experts and then submit the proposal and the course curriculum, which proposes an over five-year degree course with a one-year internship to award the dual degree, to its highest policy-making body – the Institute.

“The recommendation of the Institute Body will have to be approved by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of lndia, since this would have farreaching consequences on medical education and health care in the country,” S Rangabashiam, Deputy Director (Admin) and Nodal Officer to MOH&FW, JIPMER Puducherry, said in a letter to the Union Health Ministry.

The letter, accessed by this paper, has come to light after JIPMER shared it with Kerala-based ophthalmologist, Dr KV Babu, who had filed an RTI seeking their response on the new integrated medical course.

It was addressed to the Union Health Ministry following its multiple queries for the Institute’s comments. It was also shared with Dr Babu after his first RTI was refused. This paper was the first to write about the new integrated course to be introduced at JIPMER.

After the report went viral, drawing protests from medical doctors, JIPMER, in a short statement on September 13, said, “The Institute hereby categorically clarifies that there is no move to introduce any such programme at JIPMER as of now.”

Dr Babu said, “It has not come as a surprise to me that JIPMER plans to pursue the dual medical degree course.” He said, “NMC was earlier kept in the dark. The letter shows that now they plan to seek NMC’s response on the dual medical degree and proposed curriculum.” Dr Babu said. “The tone of the letter is worrying. It is stating that the Union Health Ministry ‘will have to approve’ the course once its Institute Body recommends it.”