The Medical Assessment and Rating Board (MARB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC) has confirmed that media reports asserting that the NMC had approved 113 new UG medical colleges are "misleading and baseless."
In a public notice released on July 8, 2024, NMC made it clear that it had simply informed the 113 medical colleges that had applied for the position of "final decision," stressing that this did not imply approval.
The NMC's explanation follows its earlier notice from July 6, 2024, informing the Medical Institutions/Colleges involved that the final decisions of MARB regarding 113 applications have been sent to their email addresses for information and necessary action to be taken by them within the allotted time.
113 new undergraduate medical institutions are set to open for the 2024–2025 academic year, according to various media reports, in response to the NMC notice of July 6, 2024.
The media reports stated that the NMC's decision to approve 113 medical colleges was made public on the organization's website on July 6, 2024, and that correspondence about the approvals was sent directly to each medical college via email, utilizing the contact information the medical colleges had submitted with their applications.
According to media reports, the Commission approved the establishment of 22 new medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh, 14 new medical colleges in Maharashtra, 12 new medical colleges in Rajasthan, and 11 new medical colleges in Telangana. This information was based on the list of applicant medical colleges that the NMC released with its notice dated July 6, 2024.
Using the list of applicant medical colleges that the NMC published along with its notice dated July 6, 2024, media reports stated that the Commission had approved the establishment of 22 new medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh, 14 new medical colleges in Maharashtra, 12 new medical colleges in Rajasthan, and 11 new medical colleges in Telangana.
Has NMC approved 113 medical colleges, then?
NMC has informed just 113 medical colleges of its decision. It hasn't granted these colleges approval. As a result, the media reports claiming to have its consent are false.
Recently, NMC released a notification stating how "misleading and baseless" these media allegations are. In a communication dated July 8, 2024, the Commission clarified that it had simply informed 113 medical colleges of its final judgement, and that the NMC's final decision does not imply approval.
The Commission stated that the news reports were "fake news published/aired in Print/Electronic Media" and that the NMC's final judgment "may be either approval or disapproval" in response to its previous notice dated July 6, 2024.
The Commission stated in the notice that the decisions made for these 113 applications will be shared on the NMC website eventually. "It is clarified that the NMC in its Public Notice dated 6 th July, 2024 has published only the list of applications against which the final decisions have been taken by the MARB.Final decision does not mean approval in respect of all 113 applications.The decision may be either approval or disapproval.Such decisions have already been communicated to the medical institutions concerned. The decisions will be uploaded on the website of NMC in due course."
NMC has also asked the public and stakeholders to ignore any "misleading or baseless news" that appears in print or electronic media.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Priyanka Pandey/MSM)