Medical colleges in Hyderabad urge NMC head Dr Gangadhar to improve education, faculty support

Hyderabad: From uniform pay scales to attendance and leave policies, the faculty and PG students from the Osmania Medical College and Gandhi Medical College raised many concerns in a discussion with Dr BN Gangadhar, the chairman of the National Medical Commission (NMC).

The key issues discussed included medical education, faculty welfare, and regulatory processes.

The session saw a series of critical points raised and acknowledged by the NMC leadership, with a focus on collaborative policy improvement.

1. Uniform Pay Scales Across India

• Raised by: Dr Bongu Ramesh and Dr Kiran Madhala

• Issue: Disparities in faculty salaries; request for pay parity under UGC/AICTE scales.

In response, the chairman said, “This is a genuine concern. However, it falls under the jurisdiction of State governments.”

2. Credit Point Requirement Relaxation for Faculty

• Raised by: Dr Bongu Ramesh, Dr Kiran Madhala and Dr Krupal Singh

• Issue: Financial burden on faculty to attend conferences for credit point accumulation.

“State governments should ideally reimburse conference expenses,” Dr Gangadhar said, and assured that the concern will be considered further.

3. Service Quota for Super-Specialty Admissions

• Raised by: Dr Bongu Ramesh

The chairman said that the issue was taken into consideration without further comment.

4. Renaming of Community Medicine Branch

• Raised by: Dr Koteswaramma

The request was noted for further review.

5. Biochemistry Eligibility for Endocrinology

The request was noted for further review.

6. Mandatory Training on Thesis & Dissertation Writing

• Raised by: Dr Vijay Kumar, superintendent, Niloufer Hospital

The issue was acknowledged within the framework of Basic Course in Biomedical Research (BCBR) and Basic Course in Medical Education (BCME) already being implemented.

7. Reimbursement of MET Course Fees

• Raised by: Dr Vinod, Niloufer Hospital

• Concern: High fee structure of Medical Education Technology (MET) courses.

The concern was noted for potential policy-level intervention.

8. Attendance and Leave Policies

• Raised by: Dr Kiran Madhala

• Issue: Flexibility in attendance and leave requirements.

The chairman said, “75 per cent attendance is mandated by the NMC. Beyond that, it is up to the discretion of individual institutions.”

On digital attendance systems, he added, “We will enable multiple latitude and longitude registrations per college to make face recognition-based attendance more accessible.”

9. Enhancing Medical Education Quality

• Raised by: Dr Pallam Praveen and Dr Ranga Ajmeera

The chairman said, “We are committed to introducing stricter quality standards across medical education institutions.”

10. Regulation of Quackery in Dermatology

• Raised by: Dr Bhumesh

The issue was received positively and may prompt action.

11. Digitalisation in Medical Education

• Raised by: Dr Manjusha (Nephrology)

The chairman welcomed the suggestion, aligning it with NMC’s vision for tech-enabled learning and assessments.

12. Insufficiency of MSR Norms

• Raised by: Dr Krupal Singh

• Issue: Inadequacy of Minimum Standard Requirements (MSR) for hospital functioning.

Dr Gangadhar said, “MSR norms will be revised and increased to support better infrastructure and service delivery.”

13. Professor-Student Ratio in Super-Specialty Courses

• Suggestion: Increase ratio from 1:2 to 1:3 to address faculty shortage.

The chairman indicated positive consideration of the proposal.

14. Rescheduling of NMC Inspections

• Concern: Conducting inspections in May causes logistical issues due to heat and academic breaks.

The chairman said that ‘May is preferred due to the availability of inspectors’ but the request will be taken into consideration.

15. International Fellowships and Foreign University Affiliations

The chairman expressed openness to facilitating affiliations with foreign universities to enable Indian doctors to pursue international fellowships.

The interaction marked a constructive exchange between medical educators and the regulatory body, highlighting the need for policy reforms that are responsive to ground realities. With multiple issues acknowledged and several suggestions receiving positive responses, the session reinforced the role of dialogue in shaping the future of medical education in India.