Run by a trust, Al-Falah started as engineering college in 1997

GURGAON: Al-Falah University, which started as an engineering college in 1997 in Faridabad's Dhauj, is run by Al-Falah Charitable Trust registered in Delhi's Okhla. It became a university in 2014 after UGC recognition.

The trust is headed by Jawahar Ahmed Siddiqui, who is also chancellor of the varsity. The first medicine batch began in 2019, and it now has 200 MBBS seats and 50 MD seats. Over the years, the varsity has expanded its campus from 30 acres to over 70 acres through land acquisition from local villagers. In Jan 2025, former Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya inaugurated a newly constructed hospital building on the campus. The institution has come under scrutiny following the alleged involvement of three of its MBBS course professors in a terror module. The varsity's engineering department graduated its last batch in 2021, although some students are still clearing backlogs. The medical college, which began in 2016, admitted its first batch of MBBS students in 2019. Many of these graduates now serve as resident doctors at the university's hospital.

Admissions are conducted through department of medical education and research (DMER), Haryana. University staffers, speaking anonymously, claimed the institution receives donations from Arab countries. "Foreign fundraisers from Arab nations visit the campus once a year. Though the college is run by a charitable trust, it has donors outside the country," a staff member said. The varsity charges Rs 16 lakh annually for MBBS courses, while fees for MD programmes range from Rs 2.5 lakh for anatomy to around Rs 30 lakh per year for pediatrics. Another employee told TOI that the university organises short-term free medical check-up camps, usually lasting two to three months. According to a varsity official, recruitment across departments is managed by the Okhla head office under the supervision of chancellor Siddiqui's associates Irfan and Razi. "They are key figures in the recruitment process," the official said. The university attracts students particularly from the Mewat region, Kashmir and Bihar.

A staffer said the university was set up with an aim to provide educational opportunities to students from minority and underprivileged backgrounds. "Al-Falah University was envisioned to uplift students from Mewat belt by providing access to quality technical and medical education," the official said. Al-Falah Hospital, which began as a small dispensary in 1997, has now expanded into an 800-plus bed super-specialty facility offering emergency and specialised care in medicine, pediatrics, radiology, orthopedics, dentistry and respiratory diseases, among others.