Shillong, June 4: Meghalaya government has come out to provide clarity on the controversy surrounding the validity of the Post Gradute (PG) course offered by Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Shillong.

“It serves no good purpose for anyone; individual or organization, to systematically target the future of the eager students who have the basic fundamental right to seek education. It is therefore in the greater interest of the entire Region, future aspirants of the Institute and the present students that this statement is being released… The main objective is to allay any unwarranted doubts with regards to the Institute,” Sampath Kumar, Principal Secretary in-charge Health & Family Welfare Department, said in a statement.

He further informed that the IIPH Shillong was established jointly by the Government of Meghalaya and the Public Health Foundation of India. It is now run by the IIPH Shillong Society registered under the Societies Registration Act 1983 of the Government of Meghalaya, on August 19, 2020. The chairperson of the society is the Principal Secretary Health, Government of Meghalaya and with board members including the DHS(MI) and renowned public health experts like Prof Srinath Reddy, President PHFI and others.

He also mentioned that the institution has a mandate for Public Health Research, and its projects are funded by international and national external grant agencies. The other mandate is to provide public health training for State Government health cadres.

“In consideration of its mandate to contribute to Public Health in the State, the State Government has provided physical facilities to IIPH Shillong. These facilities are housing high-level research labs, class rooms for public health education,” he said.

Further, the IIPH Shillong has contributed to the management of the pandemic through rigorous mathematical modeling, providing support to the system. The data and research arrived at, had been instrumental for the State in taking science based adaptive approaches for effective COVID-19 management in the State.

“It is also to be mentioned that the IIPH studies on COVID vaccine hesitancy has not only been helpful in focusing on problem areas but was also appreciated by the High Court of Meghalaya, as positive measures taken by the Government to secure the safety of people of the State, during the second wave of the pandemic,” Kumar pointed out.

“The COVID pandemic taught the entire world about the importance of Public Health, and we need to have a collaborative approach between healthcare service providers, researchers and public health experts. Implementation of public health programs without proper research and evidence-based policies and programs can have undesirable outcomes for Governments and the people. This is one more factor to exemplify the importance of research based Public Health Institution,” he added.

He also reiterated that the Master of Public Health (MPH) degree is not granted by IIPHS but by MLCU, Shillong. The students are admitted and registered with MLCU. The students are taught by faculty from both MLCU and IIPHS. Qualified IIPHS staff are adjunct faculty of MLCU and are shown as such in the MLCU prospectus. Adjunct faculty are permitted by UGC regulations. These academic collaborative arrangements are permitted by UGC, the MLCU Act 2005, as provided under Chapter II clause 7(c) and clause 8(19) and by resolution of the IIPHS Society.

The University status is needed for granting of degrees, hence this interim arrangement of IIPH with MLCU. In the meantime the State Government is in the process of upgrading the IIPHS into a university. The proposal for setting up of this public health university on the lines of IIPH Gandhinagar is under active consideration of the state Govt. to be placed before the cabinet for final decision on this.

Furthermore, it is also added that the effort and exercise of building up any Educational Institution is always done with the objective of uplifting the society, adding value to the system through the creation of educated minds, he said.

In addition, he stated that the State of Meghalaya is having paucity of health professionals and it is in public interest to increase the pool of health professionals in Meghalaya so as to provide better health administration in the State. The collaboration is one such effort.

“We should join hands in having more such initiatives to ensure all round development,” he concluded.