PDSO Unveils Poster, Announces Seminar On Medical Education Privatisation

Visakhapatnam: The Progressive Democratic Students Organisation (PDSO) unveiled a wall poster at the main entrance of Andhra University on Thursday, extending wishes for the success of its upcoming state seminar titled “Privatisation of Medical Education – Its Impact on Society”, scheduled for December 21 at Vijayawada.

Speaking at the event, PDSO district president P. Viswanath criticised the Andhra Pradesh government’s decision to run ten of the 17 newly sanctioned medical colleges under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. He alleged that institutions in Adoni, Madanapalle, Markapuram, Pulivendula, Penukonda, Palakollu, Amalapuram, Narsipatnam, Bapatla, and Parvathipuram were being leased to private entities for 33 years, reducing SC, ST, and OBC reservations by half and converting 50% of seats into market-priced quotas.

Viswanath claimed that the previous government initiated the construction of these colleges with Rs 8,500 crore from NABARD, but only five have become operational. He warned that under PPP, the cost of a medical course could rise from just ₹5 lakh in a government college to anywhere between ₹27.5 lakh and ₹1.5 crore, making education inaccessible to marginalised communities.

PDSO urged students, intellectuals, and socially conscious citizens to attend the seminar and voice their concerns over the risks of expanding PPP in medical education.