The newly anointed medical education minister came to the city to woo students with his informal initiative, but returned with a litany of woes from unhappy students
Student, Jitendra Awhad
When the newly appointed state minister of medical education, Jitendra Awhad, began his interaction with students of B J Government Medical College on Monday under his new initiative ‘Coffee with Students’, he did not expect to be flooded by gripes.
Disgruntled: A student asks questions of Minister Jitendra Awhad (inset) at the B J Medical College. Pics/Mohan Patil
The students poured out a volley of grouses — from poor seating arrangement in lecture halls, to dearth of books and journals in library, to not having basic infrastructure like fans in hostel rooms, to concerns on campus security, Awhad tried to pacify the students by selling promises of fulfillment of their demands in the next few days, but when the students seemed not to relent or get convinced, the minister took to criticising Dean Ajay Chandanwale.
“Despite knowing eight days in advance that the minister would interact with students, you haven’t solved the students’ problems. This is unfortunate, and quite shocking. How do you have such a lethargic approach?” Awhad asked Chandanwale.
Even if Awhad knows that his appointment is no more than a four-months affair — what with the state headed for elections in October — he did not miss a single opportunity to woo the young voter base.
To a question from a post-graduate student about the new assessment procedure instituted by the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS), he instantaneously replied that he would ask the university’s academic council to reconsider this decision.
After many complaints from students about space crunch on campus and inadequate rooms in hostels for boys and girls, he sought to turn to the dean. The dean informed him that a proposal for additional FSI for the college is gathering dust in the state’s urban land department. Awhad then measured his response and said, “Just give me the details, and the names of officials with whom the file is stuck. By next Wednesday, you will get results.”
Another of his populist declaration stated he would restart elections in medical colleges. At the end of the ‘coffee time’, the NCP minister invited Pune Rajya Sabha MP and party’s city president Vandana Chavan to please students with more promises. And she stuck to the script.
“I am ready to give R1 crore to this college if the priority list comes from the students and not from the dean of the college,” Chavan averred.
ADVERTISEMENT
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
