The National Medical Commission (NMC) is taking a strict stance against ‘ghost faculty’ who have been using fake thumb impressions to mark attendance in medical colleges. This practice has been undermining the mandatory 75% attendance requirement set by the NMC, raising concerns about the quality of medical education. To combat this issue, the NMC plans to implement a face recognition attendance system for all faculty members. This move follows the introduction of the Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) last year, which was designed to ensure transparent attendance tracking for both faculty and students. However, the use of fake thumb impressions has highlighted vulnerabilities in the system, prompting the NMC to explore more secure methods. The NMC has expressed its serious concern regarding the use of fake fingerprints and has issued a directive to all medical colleges to implement face authentication software for attendance tracking. This shift aims to create a more transparent and reliable system while deterring any future attempts at impersonation. In addition to the new attendance system, the NMC has also instructed all medical colleges to update the details of their faculty members on their respective college websites. This list should include information such as the faculty’s name, recent photo, educational qualifications, latest designation, and registration number issued by the respective State Medical Council. The list must be updated monthly, with the deadline being the last day of each month. To emphasize the seriousness of the matter, the NMC has implemented penalties ranging from 10 lakh to 50 lakh, which could escalate to 1 crore for colleges that fail to meet medical education standards. If these colleges do not demonstrate improvement in these metrics, the NMC plans to reduce the number of seats allotted to them. The health ministry spokesperson has yet to respond to inquiries regarding this matter. The NMC’s strong measures indicate a firm commitment to ensuring the integrity of medical education and addressing the concerns raised by the presence of ‘ghost faculty’ within the system.
