News ------------------------------ Nature Medicine 15, 723 (2009) doi:10.1038/nm0709-723c Indian universities face misconduct allegations
Killugudi Jayaraman1<http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v15/n7/full/nm0709-723c.html#a1> 1. Bangalore, India Introduction A report by the *Times of India* newspaper alleging that admissions to medical school might have been sold for money at two private institutions has stirred controversy in India. The newspaper has said it caught officials on tape demanding as much as Rs 4 million ($80,000) for admission to medical degree programs without providing receipts. In the wake of these allegations, the country's education ministry has ordered an official probe into the claims. The two institutions, Sri Ramachandra University and Sree Balaji Medical College, affiliated with Bharat University—both in the south Indian state of Tamilnadu—risk derecognition if found guilty, education ministry spokesperson Mamta Verma told *Nature Medicine*. Dayanand Dongaonkar, secretary general of the Association of Indian Universities in New Delhi is waiting for the outcome of the probe, saying that "we will decide about what action to take on our members once the government investigation is over." Ramachandra University's vice chancellor S. Rangaswami did not reply to request for comments. The university has an ongoing research alliance with Harvard University in the US. "We have been in contact with the leadership of Sri Ramachandra University, with which we have a professional services agreement, and have expressed our wish to see the matter resolved in appropriate fashion," says Chris Railey, director of communications and marketing for Partners Harvard Medical International. Balaji College, the newspaper found from the college's website, was chaired by S. Jagathrakshakan, a junior minister in the government. But after the exposé his name reportedly disappeared from the website. *Nature Medicine* was unable to reach S. Jagathrakshakan for comment. The admission scam has prompted the education ministry to review the functioning of 123 universities, including 55 medical colleges that obtained the 'deemed status' in last five years. -- Gyanendra Kumar, Biology Department, Bldg. 463, 50 Bell Avenue, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 USA Phone: 001-631-344-2787 Cell: 001-631-875-9189 ------------------------------------------------------- Residence: 16, Harrison Commons, Yaphank, NY 11980 USA ******************************************** -- Ranjit --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
