Modified On Jun 08, 2023 10:30 AM by Mahaveer, Views: 36
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has withdrawn recognition of around 40 medical colleges across the country, most of them run by the government, for allegedly not following the standards set by the medical education regulator. Around 100 more medical colleges in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and West Bengal may also face similar action.
The colleges were not following the norms of NMC. An official source told news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) that several lapses related to CCTV cameras, Aadhaar-linked biometric attendance procedures and faculty rolls were found during the NMC inspection.
Doctors and students have questioned the NMC's reasons for de-affiliation of public colleges, including those of prestigious repute like Stanley Medical College, Chennai, which they see as a minor, administrative issue. He pointed out that in private colleges and even the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), very serious violations - such as the absence of staff and infrastructure - are allegedly ignored. Also, the NMC has consistently refused to make its medical college inspection reports public.
A total of 38 medical colleges lost their affiliation for MBBS seats. Among them there are three major Tamil Nadu Government Medical Colleges - Stanley Medical College, Chennai, Government Medical College and Hospital, Dharmapuri and KAP Viswanatham Government Medical College, Trichy. Assam Medical College, Dibrugarh, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati and Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMC) Barpeta are among the government colleges in Assam that have lost recognition. Puducherry's Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute (IGMC&RI) has also lost its recognition.
Impact on NEET counselling 2023 -
Medical education experts said the NMC's action comes ahead of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG 2023) counseling 2023 and may affect the intake of students in the MBBS course. The counseling for admission to the new MBBS batch is likely to begin from July and NEET UG 2023 was to be conducted in the first week of May. The recent action of NMC against the colleges has also worried the students currently enrolled in MBBS courses. They are worried about the validity of their degree and documents.
'Very flimsy' reason for NMC's action -
Students and faculty of medical colleges, which have been de-recognised by NMC, said that their colleges have lost recognition due to two major reasons – faculty not marking their attendance on Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) and Colleges are not able to send CCTV feed to Command and Control Center in NMC. Many argued that these are "not valid reasons" for derecognition of UG seats from premier medical colleges.
A student of Stanley Medical College, Chennai said that the NMC de-affiliated the college after the NMC found that the college did not have an Aadhaar-based attendance system and CCTVs. Stanley Medical College, Chennai has 250 MBBS seats.
