India’s National Medical Commission (NMC), the country’s top medical education regulator, is in a state of disarray. Its four autonomous boards – the Undergraduate Medical Education Board (UGMEB), Postgraduate Medical Education Board (PGMEB), Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB), and Medical Assessment Rating Board (MARB) – are operating at cross-purposes, leading to conflicting decisions and causing significant concern about the quality of medical education in India.
The situation has reached a critical point, prompting the NMC to seek government intervention to resolve the internal crisis. The NMC has had to cancel several public notices due to conflicting decisions by its boards, highlighting the serious nature of the issue.
The crisis comes at a time when concerns over leaked question papers in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the national medical entrance exam, have already shaken the medical education system. The NMC administers NEET, which is taken by over 2.3 million candidates annually.
The conflicting decisions made by the NMC boards are a clear indication of the dysfunctionality within the organization. For instance, while the UGMEB imposed penalties on a college, the PGMEB allowed the same institution to increase the number of seats. Similarly, the MARB approved an increase in postgraduate seats, only for the PGMEB to subsequently reduce them.
The NMC has repeatedly raised these concerns with the health ministry, but the situation continues to deteriorate. Frequent withdrawal of official communications due to conflicting internal discussions has become a common occurrence. For example, the PGMEB issued a notice discontinuing all courses under the College of Physicians & Surgeons (CPS), Mumbai, only to withdraw it later after a legal challenge.
The NMC’s internal crisis is a clear sign of a breakdown in its governance structure. Former NMC members have criticized the boards for acting independently, exceeding their authority, and making decisions without the NMC’s approval.
In December, former NMC secretary Vipul Aggarwal highlighted these issues in a letter to the health ministry, expressing concern that the boards’ independent actions were damaging the NMC’s image and potentially compromising the standards of medical education. He emphasized the need for the NMC secretariat to have greater oversight over the boards.
Dr. Neeraj Bedi, a former medical superintendent of a private medical college, further criticized the NMC’s weak regulatory practices, claiming that it often imposes minimal penalties and allows institutions to operate without addressing deficiencies.
The NMC’s current state of affairs is a far cry from its stated objectives of introducing objectivity, transparency, and fairness in medical education. Its dysfunctionality poses a serious threat to the quality of medical education in India. The NMC’s internal crisis needs to be resolved promptly to prevent further damage to the medical education system and ensure the future of quality healthcare in the country.
