Row over MBBS admissions at Asramam ESIC hospital

The proposal to launch MBBS admissions at the Asramam ESI Model and Super Speciality Hospital for the 2026-27 academic year has ignited a political row with N.K. Premachandran, MP, accusing the State Health department of sabotaging the ₹600-crore Centrally funded project by withholding the mandatory Essentiality Certificate.

He alleged here on Friday that the denial is a “mysterious move intended to protect the commercial interests of a CPI(M)-controlled private hospital in the region.”

Mr. Premachandran claimed that despite the ESI Corporation (ESIC) submitting an application on January 9, 2026, the State government sat on the file until the very last moment. Even after the National Medical Commission (NMC) extended the deadline to February 3 and the Director General of the ESIC provided a formal undertaking to rectify all infrastructure deficiencies before the college commenced operations, the Health Minister reportedly refused to grant the certificate. The MP termed this a “betrayal of the working class,” particularly cashew workers, whose children would have benefited from affordable medical education.

Countering the allegations, CPI(M) Kollam district acting secretary S. Jayamohan tagged the claims as “bizarre and politically motivated.”

“It was approximately one year ago that the ESI Corporation Board decided to start 10 ESI Medical Colleges, which included the Asramam ESI hospital. However, until now, no actions have been taken in this regard by either the Central government or the ESI,” he said. He said that an inspection conducted by the Director of Medical Education on January 19 revealed a near-total lack of infrastructure at the Asramam hospital. He added that there were no classrooms, administrative blocks, or adequate faculty appointments required by NMC norms. “Granting a certificate to an institution with zero facilities would lead to an immediate cancellation of recognition by the NMC, thereby jeopardising the future of prospective students,” he said.

Mr. Jayamohan also cited a 2014 letter from the then ESIC Director General suggesting that the State government take over the hospital as the Centre was unable to run it. He said the allegation was just a ploy to divert attention from the Centre’s failure to grant an All India Institute of Medical Sciences to Kerala and the neglect of Kollam in the Union Budget.