NMC Notice to Medical Colleges; 38 Medical Colleges Lose Recognition, 100 Get Notice

At least 38 medical colleges across the country have lost affiliation, and another hundred or so have received notices from the country’s apex medical regulator to rectify the deficiencies.

Colleges pulled up for issues ranging from staff not marking attendance on biometric system to colleges not being able to implement new camera, biometric and health management system-based surveillance to institutes grappling with shortage of staff and doctors.

A National Medical Commission (NMC) official said the numbers would keep changing as more hearings and appeals would be taken up over the next two months.

Counseling for the current MBBS batch is likely to start from July; NEET was conducted in the first week of May.

“If a college is unable to correct  the deficiencies, it will only affect their intake for the current year,” the official said. Students already enrolled will not be affected.

The matter came to light after one of Chennai’s oldest government medical institutions – Stanley Medical College – and a few others in the state lost their recognition. “This is part of an ongoing exercise. The colleges are regularly inspected every year to see if they are following the norms or not,” said another NMC official.

The official said that unless the colleges have serious deficiencies – such as lack of infrastructure or acute shortage of faculty – they are likely to be re-recognised for the current session.

The first official said that the colleges that have been de-affiliated, or sent notices, had biometric attendance systems in place, but the staff did not start marking attendance every day after COVID-19 (all institutes have been asked to implement biometric attendance). The system was advised against being used during the pandemic).

Several colleges from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, and West Bengal have either lost recognition or have been served notices to correct deficiencies. Colleges that are under the NMC scanner reportedly include Gauhati Medical College, Assam Medical College, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College, SCB Medical College, Stanley Medical College, Dharmapuri Medical College, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute, KAP Viswanatham Medical College, and Chintpurni Medical College.

Also Read: Best Medical Colleges In India; Ranking, Established Year, College Type, Admission