Princess of Narathiwat University is offering the programme in the coming semester but has not submitted the curriculum for approval by the council as required, said Dr Somsak Lolekha, the council's president.

"The university had better stop now. If the course has already started, the best thing for them is to find a way to transfer the students to other medical schools, such as the one at [nearby] Prince of Songkhla University," Somsak said.

He blamed government incentives to increase the number of doctors for encouraging some universities to open medical programmes in a rush.

Under a government initiative to resolve the shortage of doctors, an existing medical school receives a Bt300,000 subsidy for each student. Universities that open a new medical school receive up to Bt2 million per student.

The future of the 61 students who enrolled in the programme at Princess of Narathiwat University is now in jeopardy, as they were deemed ineligible to take the examination required to attain a medical licence.

Moreover, it is very unlikely that any other school will accept additional students, said Medical Council secretary-general Dr Pinit Kullavanijaya.

The three other universities that offered courses without the council's approval are Walailak, Kasetsart and Mae Fah Luang, Somsak said.

Ubon Ratchathani University planned to open a medical programme but was found to have only two doctors as teachers, Pinit said.

Burapha University submitted its curriculum to the council, but it was very unlikely to be approved because the university did not have permanent teachers for the programme.

Somsak said some universities that wanted to offer medical programmes had incorrectly pinned their hopes on hiring doctors from nearby state hospitals.

There are too few doctors already and they have heavy workloads, he said.

Moreover, Pinit said, they are not trained as teachers and very few of them are willing to teach, even if they had the time. "We need to produce new doctors, but the quality must be maintained," he added.

Three new certified schools opened this year, raising the number to 15, he said.

The Medical Council this week issued a written warning to universities planning to offer medical courses without its approval. It also asked the governor of Narathiwat province, who is also a member of Princess of Narathiwat University's council, to help resolve the issue.

Arthit Khwankhom

The Nation