A shocking revelation: It has been found that 500 out of 706 medical colleges have been issued show-cause notices by the Apex Medical Commission, the National Medical Commission (NMC), for not maintaining the minimum standard requirements.
This accounts for nearly 80% of the medical colleges in the country. The factors on which these colleges have been identified include staff absenteeism, inadequate and poor infrastructure, complaints from students regarding ragging and inappropriate hospital infrastructure, and poor relationships between students and teachers.
These colleges have been given warning and fined amounts ranging from 1 lakh to 10 lakhs, 50 lakhs, and even 1 crore. After receiving the show-cause notice, the colleges have been given a timespan of two months to rectify the issues pointed out. Upon rectification, everything can be sorted out. However, if the colleges or institutes do not rectify the issues, they will be fined monetarily in the first stage.
The Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations of 2023 (MSMER) sets the rules for the National Medical Commission to investigate and inspect institutions and colleges. If the institutions do not meet the set criteria, they are first fined monetarily, after which their accreditations are put on hold. The application process for new courses or increasing the seats of existing courses is also withheld.
Compliance is checked for faculty members, biometric attendance, clinical materials, and other rules necessary for proper medical education. An official from the medical commission, speaking on condition of anonymity, reported that 80% of medical colleges do not follow the rules set by the NMC, including prominent government colleges across the country. These inspections are conducted online, unlike the earlier physical inspections, which were criticized and alleged to involve unfair practices. However, due to the online process, the Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system (AEBAS) ensures that no ghost faculty are appointed by the institutions.
Most importantly, the institutes that have come under scrutiny lack indoor beds, radiological infrastructure, and surgical equipment essential for medical education. Some institutes manipulate death and birth rates, and perhaps most shocking is the unfairness of exams conducted. Action must be taken against these institutions, as the standard of medical education will deteriorate under such unfair practices.
In Assam, Dr. Anoop Kumar Barman, the Director of Medical Education (DME), mentions the difficulty in maintaining NMC standards due to network issues affecting biometric attendance. He also notes a shortage of faculty members as one reason why it's challenging to uphold NMC protocols.
Similarly, Dr. Pradeep Kumar Mitra, the DME from West Bengal, states that the government's failure to promote staff results in doctors working alongside government officials to avoid rural postings, posing challenges in recruiting proper faculty members.
Input from various sources
(Rehash/Manav Chaturvedi/MSM)