The AP Junior Doctors Association (APJDA) has begun its agitation against the government’s move to privatize medical education. The agitation is being launched in all the ten medical colleges in AP. Student organizations like AISF and SFI are also to support this action.

The association is demanding the scrap of allocation of 3 per cent MBBS seats and 25 per cent PG seats in government medical colleges under college development quota. The colleges had been charging exorbitant fees and candidates who did not write the common entrance test were also becoming eligible for the seats.

APJDA is also demanding to scrap GO No 90, which stipulated that the government medical colleges, which are suffering from lack of funds and infrastructure, be handed over to private sector or closed. The reports submitted by the Steering Committee in 1998 and the Task Force Committee in 2000 indicated that the doctor- patient ratio is 1:1500, which is sufficient. The authorities can instead improve college infrastructure.