The National Medical Commission (NMC) has penalized the Haveri Institute of Medical Sciences (HIMS), Karnataka, and 27 other medical colleges in the state of Karnataka for failing to satisfy specified standards. HIMS has settled the Rs. 15 lakh penalty. The facility was found to have multiple shortcomings and inadequate infrastructure by the NMC. It had stated, however, that if the fine was paid, HIMS would be granted permission to admit students for the following academic year.

The dean of HIMS, Dr. Pradeep Kumar MV, confirmed that he had lately deposited the Rs. 15 lakh penalty. He said, “The authorities noted Jan and Feb’s biometric attendance for staff, absence of MRI scan facilities, shortage of human cadavers for anatomy dissection, and an inactive histopathology department. The college is preparing to welcome its second batch of students soon and has moved to a new building. We had requested the authorities for exemption from the penalty because HIMS is a new college and infrastructure facilities are being arranged one by one, but they did not accept our appeal.”

“According to NMC rules, 15 human cadavers are required for anatomy dissection for first-year students, but we have only three cadavers. We will make arrangements as per the prescribed standards for the next year to avoid a penalty,” Dr. Pradeep Kumar guaranteed.

Abdul Hubballi, a social activist, in the meantime requested that "Instead of paying a penalty, the HIMS authorities should maintain standards prescribed by the NMC. The dean of HIMS should be aware of all such things beforehand, and quality education should be provided."

In addition to HIMS, NMC fined 27 other medical institutions in the State for not fulfilling the necessary criteria. A fine ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh was paid by these medical institutes, including HIMS.

The Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023, or MSMER 2023, had financial penalty clauses added by NMC. The Commission had stated that it might apply a number of penalties, including warnings to the medical college to make corrections or comply, monetary penalties of up to Rs. 1 crore, and penalties of up to Rs 5 lakhs to the medical college's faculty for misconduct. Additionally, it has the authority to stop the accreditation process, suggest to the NMC's Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) that the application process for any new course, including those with more seats than the current one, be delayed, lower the enrollment in the upcoming or future academic years, halt admission to one or more courses, suggest that permission be withdrawn, and withhold or withdraw accreditation for a maximum of five academic years.

For the first time, NMC fined medical institutions for breaking the Maintenance of Standards of Medical Education Regulations, 2023 (MSMER) regulations, citing staff and clinical material shortcomings. Tamil Nadu's government medical institutions, including those in Dharmapuri, Ramanathapuram, and Nagapattinam, face fines from the Commission of up to Rs 3 lakh. In addition to these universities, numerous additional colleges received show-cause letters from the Commission due to deficiencies in their Aadhaar-based biometric attendance records.

Subsequently, the Commission vigorously prosecuted the government medical colleges in Chhattisgarh after realizing there was a severe scarcity of teachers and vital supplies. The medical colleges at Bilaspur, Ambikapur, Mahasamund, and Jagdalpur each received fines of Rs 3 lakh, while Kanker Medical College was fined Rs 1 crore. Durg Medical College was fined Rs 4 lakh. In addition, show-cause notices about the professor shortage have been given to Mahasamund, Kanker, and Raigarh Medical Colleges.

(Input from various sources)

(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)