- The CAG audit confirmed serious irregularities at Madhya Pradesh's sole medical university in Jabalpur
- Thousands of students affected by opaque affiliations and lack of infrastructure in paramedical colleges
- University transferred Rs 55.52 crore to institutions without proper affiliation, violating rules
After NDTV's ground investigations exposed the nursing scam and, more recently, the deep-rooted paramedical education crisis in Madhya Pradesh, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has now formally confirmed serious irregularities at the state's only medical university in Jabalpur.
The CAG audit of the Medical University covering 2020 to 2022-23, tabled in the Assembly, paints a damning picture. Thousands of students and dozens of colleges were affected by administrative failures, lack of transparency, rule violations, and financial mismanagement.
Data Hidden, Students Left In The Dark
The audit found that the Medical University failed to upload complete data related to nursing and paramedical colleges on its website. There was no clarity on which institution was affiliated with which course or how many students were enrolled.
The Medical Education Department had approved 275 posts at the university.
In effect, students had no way to verify whether their colleges were properly affiliated. This opacity created a fertile ground for cheating and misinformation. As NDTV's earlier investigation showed, many institutions existed only on paper while classrooms remained locked and laboratories lay unused. Now, the CAG has confirmed that even at the regulatory level, basic transparency mechanisms were missing.
The CAG inspected 76 institutions and found serious deficiencies in 32 of them. Yet, affiliations were granted despite the absence of required infrastructure and resources as per prescribed standards.
Colleges Without Infrastructure, Affiliations Granted
NDTV cameras had captured deserted classrooms, cobweb-covered lab equipment, and campuses without teachers or students. At multiple paramedical colleges, managements admitted that classes had not been conducted for years while examinations for old batches were being held sporadically.
The CAG report also flagged financial irregularities.
The CAG report now confirms that the university granted affiliations even where mandatory infrastructure norms were not met. This means thousands of students enrolled in institutions that did not meet basic academic and laboratory standards.
More than 243 paramedical institutions operate in the state with nearly 48,000 students enrolled. Yet academic sessions have been delayed since 2020. Examinations have not been conducted on time. Results are indefinitely pending. Admissions for the 2025 batch remain incomplete.
What was meant to produce lab technicians, radiology staff, physiotherapists and OT technicians has instead turned into a prolonged administrative collapse.
Rs 55 Crore Released In Violation Of Rules
The CAG report also flagged financial irregularities. As per rules, maintenance payments from university funds can be given only to affiliated institutions. However, the Medical University transferred Rs 39.69 crore to MGM Medical College, Indore, for developing an ophthalmology school of excellence and Rs 15.83 crore to Jabalpur Medical College for a neurosurgery facility, totalling Rs 55.52 crore.
There was no clarity on which institution was affiliated with which course or how many students were enrolled.
The university defended the decision, saying it was approved by the Executive Council. The CAG rejected this justification and directed the government to recover the funds.
Vacancies, Outsourcing And Rs 84 Lakh Payment
The Medical Education Department had approved 275 posts at the university. Eleven years later, in 2023, 184 of these posts remained vacant.
Jabalpur Medical University
Since the university's inception, 16 key posts, including Rector, Administrative Officer, Finance Officer and Assistant Registrar, have never been filled. The direct consequence has been delay in examinations, results, mark sheets, degree distribution and affiliation processing.
Instead of filling sanctioned posts, the university hired 4 to 23 employees more than approved through outsourcing. Between December 2021 and March 2023, Rs 84.19 lakh was paid to HITES, the outsourcing agency. Even the post of Assistant Grade-3 cum Data Entry Operator, which was meant to be filled directly, was outsourced.
Instead of filling sanctioned posts, the university hired 4 to 23 employees more than approved through outsourcing.
In addition, the audit found that Rs 98.60 crore in endowment funds collected from 551 institutions was not deposited. The university did not maintain proper cash or account records and failed to prepare annual accounts. This left students financially unprotected when affiliated colleges shut down.
Backdated Recognition And Court Controversy
NDTV's investigation had uncovered a national first retrospective recognition granted for three academic sessions at once: 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. Students from three different sessions were forced into the same batches.
A student who passed Class 12 in 2025 was admitted into a 2023 batch, meaning the graduation year on paper predates the school certificate. The matter has reached from the High Court to the Supreme Court, with allegations that the Paramedical Council filed contradictory affidavits.
The university did not maintain proper cash or account records and failed to prepare annual accounts.
Now, with the CAG confirming systemic failures at the medical university itself, the regulatory collapse appears institutional rather than accidental.
Ground Reality: Years Lost, Careers Delayed
In Agar-Malwa, students say they have been studying the first-year syllabus for nearly three years. In Satna and Chhindwara, NDTV found libraries equipped but classrooms empty. In Burhanpur, management admitted that by the time recognition came, students had already left.
In government institutions too, delays persist. At Khandwa Government Medical College, students admitted in 2020-21 have yet to complete graduation in 2025.
In nursing education, out of 28,560 sanctioned seats, only 17,735 registrations have taken place; nearly 38 per cent of seats lie vacant. Only 8 out of 21 government nursing colleges have recognition.
At Vision College of Nursing in Betul, where records show 300 students, NDTV found barely ten on campus. First-year results for the 2022-23 batch are still awaited. Scholarships remain unpaid.
While MBBS students complete a five-year degree on time, paramedical students in Madhya Pradesh are unable to complete a three-year course even in five to seven years.
Healthcare Backbone Crumbling
Paramedical and nursing professionals form the backbone of hospitals. The CAG findings, combined with NDTV's ground reports, indicate that administrative mismanagement, irregular affiliations, financial lapses and delayed recognition have collectively derailed an entire generation of healthcare workers.
The impact will not remain confined to students. A prolonged shortage of trained technicians and nurses is now inevitable. And the ultimate cost of this systemic failure will be borne not by institutions or officials, but by patients in hospitals across Madhya Pradesh.
