NMC Upholds Student Admission Ban For 9 Out of 150 Medical Colleges Under Scrutiny

Nine educational institutions, primarily managed by private trusts, are currently prohibited from enrolling students for the ongoing MBBS batch (2023-2024), resulting in a total of 1,500 vacant seats. Out of these, two colleges are situated in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, while the remaining establishments are located in Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar. A recent report by The Indian Express highlights that at least two of these colleges are facing allegations of non-cooperation and misconduct as per assessments conducted.

The scrutiny of medical colleges is conducted periodically, and this issue came into focus earlier this year when the National Medical Commission (NMC) revoked recognition or issued notices to 150 colleges. These concerns were related to various issues, including inadequate patient and staff numbers, as well as the failure to adopt the new camera and biometric attendance-based system.

An official from the National Medical Commission informed The Indian Express that most of the colleges have been reinstated after appeals to the NMC or the health ministry. He explained, "This is because the colleges, especially well-established or government ones, rectified minor deficiencies. For instance, some colleges had discontinued using the biometric attendance system due to COVID-19. Some colleges lacked sufficient faculty members. If the deficiency is less than 10 percent, departments can admit students for the year while addressing the staffing gaps."

These developments align with the National Medical Commission's efforts to establish a new framework for ongoing supervision of medical colleges. This approach involves the utilization of hospital cameras, an Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system, and the integration of health system management data to facilitate continuous monitoring. The official further emphasized that significant deficiencies were still found at some colleges. He stated, "If a medical college hospital has a shortage of patients and faculty members to an extent that cannot be promptly corrected, they will not be permitted to admit students for the current batch."

The NMC representative clarified that students already enrolled in previous batches would not be affected. Nevertheless, colleges that address their deficiencies before the commencement of the fourth and final round of counseling on September 21 will still not be granted permission to admit students for the current batch.

This year is a noteworthy milestone as the number of MBBS seats available to students has surpassed 100,000 in government and private institutions across the country. This figure represents a substantial increase from the 53,000 available seats in 2014.