Costly medical education

Exorbitant cost deny many aspiring younsters

I refer to the report “Medical colleges’ high fees surprise MMA”(Star July 23).

Not only the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA, but we all are surprised by the exorbitant fees charged by private medical colleges. This unhealthy practice has been ongoing for so many years and we are rather surprised that the MMA just realized that.

Hospital attachment which is a vital part of the training of a doctor is the most costly aspect of the programme. Currently all the private colleges in the country use existing government hospitals for the purpose of clinical teaching of their medical students.

The charges imposed by the government hospitals appear to be reasonable. It is surprising that most colleges charge more than RM 300,000 for the medical course when the government hospitals only charge less than RM20,000 for using their facilities and specialists for the training of medical students.

A quick survey of the various colleges will show that the cost of medical courses in local colleges that offer local degrees are not much cheaper than foreign degrees awarded by reputable foreign medical colleges. At the same time the tuition fees for foreign degrees that are awarded locally by way of twinning programmes are also not significantly lower than those awarded by the foreign college itself.

This is rather ridiculous, as although the degree may be awarded by a foreign university, the bulk of the training, especially the clinical training, is conducted locally in our own government hospitals and specialists. Twinning programmes should significantly reduce the cost; otherwise it would defeat the purpose of the programme itself.

It may cost about RM300, 000–RM500,000 to do medicine locally. This is a very large amount and beyond the means of the vast majority of our people. How many parents can ever save that amount in their lifetime? Most of them have more than one child and we can imagine the financial burden imposed on them by the children’s education alone.

The high cost had made the medical course to become exclusive for children of very wealthy parents. It must be stressed that many of the best doctors, like in all other professions, come from the masses, the lower and middle income families. It is regrettable that a significant number of them with great passion for the job are automatically eliminated from the medical profession due to their financial handicap.

The government must ensure that those capable and eager youngsters aspiring to become dedicated doctors must to given the opportunity to take up the career in medicine. If the government is not able to absorb them into the public colleges for whatever reasons, then at least they must be aided to secure places at private ones at affordable fees.

We must not let financial restraints deny our passionate young men and women the opportunity of becoming dedicated doctors of the future. If we do, then we would only be doing a great disservice to the nation and the medical profession, that is fast losing its nobility and becoming a business enterprise instead.

Private medical colleges, like all others have an obligation to the nation. They must not just be driven by profit alone but must help to provide the nation with quality and dedicated doctors if we want to realize our aspirations of becoming a regional centre of medical excellence.

Dr.Chris Anthony