The Goa Medical College has rusticated five medical interns, but the entire incident has left many questions wide open. The FIR lodged by the Agassaim police is against unknown persons. The drugs were traced in the boys' common washroom and not found in possession by any of the interns. The transition of 7 gms of contraband into the hostel premises is still unknown, and there is no credible evidence to link the interns to the seized narcotics. What is on record is that the interns were under the influence of alcohol and were engaged in abusive behaviour.
While the rustication order has come in quick, one is left wondering if the GMC has seized the drug handle to fire at these students, who are believed to have a history of arrogant and unruly behaviour. The inordinate hurry shown by the dean in rusticating the students is a clear indication that he was either under pressure or was desperate to absolve GMC of the drug taint, and hence promptly followed the directive of his master.
The decision to rusticate, however raises more questions because the GMC hostel holds the notoriety and history of holding parties within the premises where booze, drugs and camaraderie between boys and girls flow freely, thanks to the tacit support of the faculty. The dean, who has shown surprise over this development, has remained a mute and helpless spectator to the high decibels that frequently ruptured the silence inside the premises. This may be the first time drugs have been detected inside the campus, but certainly not the first time that drugs have made an entry inside the GMC hostel, and the interns are well aware of this reality. Interns are allowed the liberty to walk into the hostel in an inebriated condition and there’s a free flow of alcohol. The atmosphere has been casual inside campus, and no inmate will deny this.
The quantity of drugs may be too small, but the magnitude of the issue is larger and it appears that the problem is much bigger than what meets the eye. The prompt rustication has indeed raised eyebrows, with a parallel argument over why authorities are tolerating errant, ill-behaved and irresponsible interns, the very individuals who are being trained in a very sensitive branch of medicine that involves human lives. The show of exigency is infact a desperate attempt to salvage the goodwill attached to the premier hospital by selectively choosing targets, when there should have been initiatives to remedy the situation by engaging students.
Rustication may keep the interns away from the hostel for three months or even longer, but can this action result in a better environment, other factors remaining constant? Discipline must not be selective, but across the board, and obviously, a nuisance of any sort cannot be excused. The dean has to deal with a firm hand without any exceptions, and only then will the message go out loud and clear, not otherwise. There are educational institutes that have set high standards with their stringent protocols and disciplinary measures where student behaviour ranks high on priority. The mess, such as the one seen at GMC hostel, cannot be cleansed if the intention is on headline-grabbing and settling scores against a few. The GMC hostel needs a complete systemic change and a new order, not a one-off knee-jerk retaliation.
